Aurora Trinity Lutheran Parish Monthly Newsletter

November, 2011

Thanksgiving Joint Worship Service Time

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at Trinity

Luther League Annual Bake Sale

The Aurora/Trinity Luther League will be having a bake sale at the Oyster/Chili Supper. All Luther League youth in grades 6-12 need to bring bake sale items and sign up to work at the bake sale. There will be a sign up sheet to work at the church.

Church Council Meeting

The Aurora Church council meeting will be on Wednesday, November 16th at 6:30 p.m.

Newsletter Information Deadline

Please have all information for the December newsletter and calendar to Kayla by Thursday, th November 17 . Information can be e-mailed to owatpaape@aol.com or you can call either 451-3941 or 507-390-2039.

2011 Oyster-Chili Supper

The 2011 Oyster-Chili Supper will be held Sunday, November 20th. Your donation/work slip is included in the newsletter. If you have any questions, you can contact Bob Thurnau or Angie Jensen.

Food Shelf Sunday at Aurora

The next food shelf Sunday at Aurora will be on Sunday, November 6th. Please give to help those who are less fortunate.

Daylight Savings Time Ends

Daylight Savings Time Ends on November 6th. Remember to switch your clocks back 1 hour, so you will be on time for church and th Sunday School on Sunday, November 6 .

2011 Aurora Diner Recap

Total receipts were $40,913.72 ($2,000 over last year). Expenses totaled $26,757.81 (this includes $3,000 we gave to groups who worked at the diner). Profit of $14,155.91. Groups that helped during the week were: Good Shepherd Lutheran, Our Savior's Lutheran, St. John's Lutheran, Claremont, OHS French Club, Rice Lake Restoration Group, and our sister church, Trinity Lutheran, Bixby. The pancake breakfast on Sunday went well, all of the groups provided adequate manpower to efficiently run the diner, and we had good weather during the fair which helped us have a successful week at the diner. WELCA approved to give $6,000 to various missions, which may include $1,000 to Aurora's building fund. Thank you to all who gave of their time and talent to make this a success!

All Saints Sunday, November 6, 2011

We will be remembering family members and friends who have died over the years with the lighting of candles on All Saints Sunday, November 6th.

Aurora Thankoffering Service

The Aurora WELCA Thankoffering service will be held on Sunday, November 13th at our regular worship time of 10:30 a.m. The women of our church will be leading this service. Cookies and coffee will be served in the narthex before the service.

Aurora WELCA Coat and Blanket Drive

Aurora WELCA is having a winter coat and blanket drive with items to be donated to Project Home, a non profit organization of the South Central Human Relations Center. Project Home serves the homeless in our community. Please bring your new or gently used winter coats and blankets and place them in the bins located in the narthex.

Luther League Trip to the SkyZone

On Saturday, November 12, the Aurora/Trinity Luther League will be heading to SkyZone, an indoor trampoline park, in Plymouth, MN. We will meet at Aurora Lutheran at 8:30 a.m. to carpool. We will be at SkyZone from 10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. The cost for 2hours of jumping is $20 per person. The Luther League will provide lunch on the way home. Please sign-up at church or by contacting Nathele Beadell at 319-4146 or email at njbeadell@gmail.com. Sign-up deadline is November 6th.

Christmas Decorating at Aurora

With the start of Advent on Sunday, November 27th, the church Christmas Decorating has been scheduled for Saturday, November 26th at 4:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend. There will be pizza after the decorating is completed.

Brass Quartet Christmas Concert

Aurora will be hosting a Brass Quartet Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 3rd at 4:00 p.m. The cost is $10 per person with a family maximum of $30. This is a non-profit group. They use the money they receive to provide music lessons to children that cannot afford it in the metro area. This event will be open to the public and WELCA will serve treats. Mark your calendars and start inviting friends and family to this fun family event.

Aurora Nursery
Do you have a little one and find yourself paying more attention to them instead of the church service? When you get home do you ever think, what did the minister say today? Bonnie Johnson is willing to do a nursery for babies through 4 years old every second Sunday of the month so you can enjoy the service and your little one is happy too. She will be available in the preschool/kindergarten room in the basement of the church.

Moving or Change of Address???

If you are moving, please be sure to notify the Church Secretary, Kayla Paape with your new address and phone information. Did you know that we have a service request on our mail? That means if we arent notified of an address change, the mail is returned to the church for a cost of 50 to $1.09. Please help keep costs down and keep your information current.

Sermon Blog
If you missed attending a previous Sunday Worship Service and would like to read Pastor Jon's sermon, you can find it on his blog at: http://jdshankles.wordpress.com

Events/Activities
Are you or your child(ren) involved or will be involved in any events or activities throughout the year? Please let Pastor Jon know. He would like to come out and support the event!

Welcome Corner
Welcome to Micah Alexander Shaw, son of Lee & Angie Shaw. He became a member of Aurora through the Sacrament of Baptism on Sunday, October 23rd. If anyone else is interested in becoming a member of the Aurora or Trinity Lutheran Church congregation, please contact Pastor Jon for new member information.

Pastor Jon Contact Information

If you need to reach Pastor Jon during the week, please call him at 507-676-5696 or you can send him an e-mail at: auroratrinitypastor@gmail.com.

Please be sure to review the following enclosures:

Trinity Quarterly Church Council Meeting Minutes Aurora October Church Council Meeting Minutes Pastor Jons Message

Aurora Lutheran Church Council Meeting October 19, 2011 The regular monthly meeting of the Aurora Church Council met on October 19, 2011 at 6:30 PM, at Trinity. Those present were Pastor Jon Davis, Jeanne Pichner, Stan Norland, Cheryl Thompson, Bill Lewison, Roger Carroll, Dwight Jensen, Jodi Keck, Brett Paape, Wayne Larson, and Robert Thurnau. Pastor Jon lead devotions, Matthew 22: 34-46. The Secretary's report was approved as read after an addition was made to Pastor Jon's information from Michaelson's Funeral home, stating that the grave diggers may plant grass on the site if that was in their agreement with the family. The Treasure's report was approved as read and subject to audit: General Fund: $2,367.00; Building Fund: $2.767.60; Memorial Fund: $12,945.18; Parsonage Fund: $1,462.75: Cemetery Fund: $8.593.44; Money Market Fund: has been close and put into our savings account. 1. Copy write license: Pastor Jon reported that at this time he doesn't believe that it is something that we need to be concerned with. He has a couple more things to check out and will report back. 2. Scholarships: Pastor Jon and Jodi Keck are still working on the form and will have them available in November. 3. Flag Pole: Wayne Bjoraker provided more information on a different flag pole that comes in 2 sections (for installation) but does not go up and down. It is 20' high and comes with a flag, from Herold Flags in Rochester. The cost for this is $418. (The Bjoraker family has given a memorial to the church with $400 designated for a new flag pole). A motion was made and seconded to approve the new flag pole and it will be referred back to Wayne Bjoraker to order. 4. Windows: The outside glass was to be replaced this week (Oct. 17) by Owatonna glass but the stain glass part has not be repaired as of yet. 5. Auditing the books will be done by Sara Pichner and Kayla Paape.

Aurora Lutheran Church Council Meeting (continued) October 19, 2011 6. Parsonage: Roger Carroll will check into insulation and installing a fan in the bathroom, Stan Norland will work on getting the windows caulked. 7. Nov. 13 will be Thank Offering Sunday at Aurora. WELCA will be handling the service. Lauren Davis (Pastor Jon's wife) will be our guest pastor. She will also be doing the service at Trinity. 8. December 3 at 4PM we will be hosting a Brass Quartet. This will be our Christmas celebration at Aurora in place of going to the Lundstroms Christmas. The cost is $10 per person, $30 max per family. The group is non-profit; they use the money that they receive to provide music lessons to children that cannot afford it in the metro area. This will be open to the public and WELCA will serve treats. Mark your calendars and start inviting friends and family to this fun family event. Meeting was adjourned and we continued with our joint council meeting with Trinity. Respectfully Submitted, Cheryl Thompson. Aurora Secretary

Trinity Lutheran Church Quarterly Meeting October 9, 2011 Meeting brought to order by Pres. Rich Paulson. Sec. report presented by Shari. Copies handed out to members. Approved as read. Treas. report presented by Lorna. Copies handed out to members. Approved as read. OLD BUSINESS: 1. The sump pump and drainage field has been done. There is still some cosmetic work to do. Thank you to all the men who helped with this project. 2. Planting trees has been tabled until spring. It was discussed that the old trees should be removed before planting any new ones. 3. Work on the front of the church will begin October 22nd at 8:00 a.m. All who are able and willing are asked to come and help. We will also do some cleaning in the basement that day. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Now that the Aebelskiver supper is over, the WELCA bank account will be totally closed with the money being transferred to the church. We discussed where the money should go. It was agreed that it should not just go into the checking account. Lorna will look into options of a short term CD vs. the mainstay account for now. 2. Rental prices were discussed and approved as follows: Rental of tables and chairs will be to ACTIVE MEMBERS ONLY. There will be a $100.00 deposit put down that will be returned depending on the condition of the return of the items. Use of the church basement will be $75.00 for Active members and $125.00 for all others.

3. It was brought to our attention that regular light bulbs will soon be no longer available. The new fluorescent twist bulbs are not meant to be used in enclosed globes like we have, and are also much more expensive. We can still get the reg. bulbs, but have to order a minimum of 100. Roger has been in contact with Brett Paape from Aurora. They will look into this more with the possibility of ordering for both churches together. 4. There will be a joint council meeting on Oct. 19 th at Trinity. 5. The next quarterly meeting will be in Jan. and will be incorporated into the annual meeting. Motion to adjourn was made by Lu, and seconded by Paul. Potluck lunch was enjoyed by all. Respectfully submitted by Shari Manges.

Well, its November. Where has the time gone? It continually amazes me how quickly time moves. I am suspicious that it wont be long before we are ringing in the New Year and making (and breaking) new resolutions! Over the course of the past month, many of you have hosted and participated in Cottage Meetings, where we have gathered around a meal to discuss the strengths, weakness, and dreams of our congregations. They have been very successful and energizing! Great ideas and visions for the future were passed around. Thank you to all of you who were willing to attend and help out with them. I think it is something we will do again in the future. I will give a more full report soon on what came out of these meetings, but heres one highlight. At many of the meetings, the need for clearer and easier communication, not only for members of our parish but also for those who might be interested in visiting Aurora and Trinity, was brought forward. As a result, in the coming weeks and months, we are hoping to launch a website and a Facebook page for Aurora and Trinity. We will also be continuing our current modes of communication (bulletin, newsletter, announcements in worship). A website and Facebook page will be ways to make ourselves known in the community and also create easier communication about events, times of worship, etc. Building and maintaining a website and a Facebook page can be a lot of work. If any of you are techy people who have skills to work on these projects, please let me know. Lastly, for those of you who could not be at church on October 16th, Lauren and I are very excited to announce that we are going to be parents! We are mindful of those who have struggled and continue to struggle with issues surrounding infertility and pregnancy, and so we celebrate this profound event in life with great joy and awe. Peace and love to you, Pastor Jon