Lent Brings A New Beginning to an Old Tradition
If you‘ve grown up Lutheran (or “Lootrun” for some) you know the drill: “Lent is Beginning!” (“It’s SO early this year,” or alternatively, “It’s SO late this year.”) Well, Lent is upon us, beginning Ash Wednesday, February 17. Some things to consider:
1. For Catholics, Lent is an obligatory sacred tradition, but for Lutherans it is observed but not re- quired. This way we don’t have to suffer Catholic guilt over skipping it, which would kind of be a waste of time for us Lutherans anyway. We reserve our Lutheran guilt for how neatly our lawns are mowed.
2. While we must not feel guilt over not having Wednesday Soup suppers, it’s alright to feel bad about not having them due to COVID-19 restrictions. It means the food will taste that much bet- ter when we finally, FINALLY get it…
3. The 40 Days of Lent are a reminder of the time of trial for the Israelites in the Sinai Wilderness, and Jesus facing Temptation in the Wilderness. Lutherans observe 40 days of Lent because that is how long the month of March feels in Minnesota—it’s called “Lutheran March Madness”. 4. While we are not required to eat fish on Fridays, it is important that we not use Lent as a time to
temp or taunt our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters by openly grilling steaks and venison on our front driveway Fridays after work.
5. Lent IS a time to contemplate the Lutheran Holy Mystery of Jello—dessert or salad? Animal or vegetable? It is a time to prepare for the Lutheran Holy Food of Syttende Mai: Lutefisk, the Piece of Cod Which Passeth All Understanding.
6. Lent is historically a time to contemplate our mortality, which seems kind of pointless as we are going through this pandemic for almost 12 months. Maybe we can use that extra energy to con- template what we are going to do after it’s all over!
Seriously, though: Lent is Beginning! Join us, beginning Ash Wednesday, February 17, at 7pm. We will sing. We will receive ashes. We will receive Holy Communion. We will finish the Lent we only began last year. We will join for study after worship. We will contemplate the goodness of our Lord’s gift of his only life for our many lives! See you there.
Pastor M
Granite Falls Lutheran News
February 2021
Worship in February
Come let us worship together as we sing praises to our God and grow in faith together.
Online Worship Services
Worship services will continue to be livestreamed on the GFLC Facebook page.
If you are unable to tune in live, the services will be posted to Facebook and YouTube after being streamed. Our services also continue to be broadcast on KDMA
Radio (93.9 FM & 1460 AM) on Sunday mornings at 7:40 AM as well as on the local cable channel 8 on
Sundays at 7:00 PM. GFLC Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/GFLCGFMN/ GFLC YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/gflcMNelca/feed
Wednesday Holy Communion
We know that you can't always get to church on Sundays or even on Communion Sundays, but sometimes you need that reassurance that Jesus Christ is right there for you, where you can see, touch and taste Him.
If you need that, when you need that, come to Holy Communion Worship at 9:30am on Wednesdays. In February it will be the first two Wednesdays until Ash Wed. It will be smaller and shorter than Sundays, but with the same expansive, eternal Promises of God.
Trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
This summer we’re going to be going to the Boundary Waters through Wilderness Canoe Base. It’s going to be an amazing trip, and I am betting it’s going to be life changing for the folks who go. This trip is open to anyone from 9th grade and up. This includes youth and adults! I don’t want this to be a youth-only trip, I want this to be open to anyone in- terested. You just have to be able to safely navigate the rugged conditions of the BWCA, (be able to hike over rocky trails carrying a pack, enter into a canoe free floating in the water, and be comfortable with sleeping in a tent). You don’t have to bring any gear, besides clothing for yourself, and fishing rods if you want to go fishing!
We have a few families already interested, if we get enough folks we could have a more re- laxed trip and a more work heavy trip. I have been working with the folks at Wilderness Canoe Base to figure out a date, right now we’re looking at mid-June. We do have scholarships available for folks who could use some help paying. If you are interested, please reach out to Pastor Paul at pastorpaul@granitefallslutheran.com or call the church office (320-564-3746)!
Pastor Paul
Summer Bible Camps are “Open For Business!”
It may seem a long ways off, but summer WILL come—and with it, Summer Bible Camp and VBS! After losing a year to the COVID-19 pandemic, ELCA-affiliated Bible camps will be accepting campers on-site, and going out into the congregations to conduct camps during Vacation Bible School. Granite Falls Lutheran Church has chosen Green Lake Lutheran Ministries as its primary camp sponsor, and selected July 25-30 as “church camp week.” Students are encouraged (but not required) to attend this week. If they cannot attend this week, there are other weeks and other ELCA camps to attend. (Please help us use our scholarship dollars wisely by sending your child to an ELCA-affiliated camp.)
On Sunday, February 14, Mandy Severtson from Green Lake Lutheran Ministries will be visiting our congregation to talk about and encourage people of all ages to attend Bible camp. However, weeks are already filling fast, and there is an early-bird registration dead- line approaching on March 1. DON’T WAIT TO REGISTER YOUR STUDENT ON-LINE! The church will be offering generous camp scholarships for students, so stay tuned to our February bulletins, website and Sunday School announcements for more about that.
Vacation Bible School (VBS) is tentatively set for Monday, August 2-5, with Shetek Lutheran Minis- tries coming to our church to conduct our VBS. We will be looking for a VBS Site Coordinator and volunteers, as well as places to house and food to feed our camp staff. Stay aware of this oppor- tunity as it develops!
GFLC: 75 Years … And Counting
(Editor’s note: 2020 marked Granite Falls Lutheran Church’s 75th Anniversary, yet with the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the energy and many of the opportunities to celebrate this milestone were missed. During 2021 we will cele- brate this with events and commemorations. This article is the first in a continuing series on the history of our congre- gation.)
The beginnings of what we know as Granite Falls Lutheran Church began inauspiciously in Torger Johnson’s blacksmith shop along the river between 6th and 7th Avenue. It was likely more of a shed than anything, and the first preacher had to come from Hanley Falls to Granite Falls, which was little more than a collection of 14 homes and an equal number of shops and buildings around the mill that drew farmers from miles around. The first meeting took place on Monday, No- vember 9, 1876, and they constituted their church, giving it the name “The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congrega- tion.” The church would begin its activity as soon as people transferred from their other churches.
To answer their congregational needs, the church initially began by worshipping in the county courthouse, until land was purchased for a church at the corner of 4th Street and 8th Avenue; this would be eventually known as the “North Church” and the building still stands today. The need for a cemetery became apparent, and finally in 1885 about two acres of land south of town up on the ridge of the valley was purchased for $100. This became Evergreen Cemetery and it is still owned and used by the church.
Money was scarce in those days: to call a pastor they needed $600 and a parsonage, as well as the proceeds from the Christmas, Easter and Pentecost services, to pay the pastor. To bear this expense, the congregation made an agreement with a thriving Norwegian church in Stony Run Township, Bergen Lutheran, to share pastoral expense. It is important to note that at this time, nearly all the rural churches were much larger and thriving in comparison to GFLC.
In 1881-1882 the first church was built, with materials cost estimated at $800 (!). Pledges for the church, and furnishings came to nearly $1,600, but money and market prices didn’t always allow people to follow through on their good inten- tions. Often the church had to borrow money to pay the pastor’s salary. The “North Church” took some years to complete, finally being dedicated on June 3, 1889. During this time ministry continued; in 1890 Pastor Lokensgaard recorded 16 confirmations, 20 baptisms and nine funerals.
During these years, waves of immigration from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany filled the area with new people and new ideas about how to live out their faith in a New World. These forces would lead to a new period for the young church.
February 2021
Children’s Church & Sunday School Schedule
(age 4 thru 1st Grade) (2nd thru 6th Grades)
February 7 Children’s Church - 9:00 am
Sunday School - 10:00 am
February 21 Children’s Church - 9:00 am
Sunday School - 10:00 am
January has been full of controversy, both nationally and within this church community. I (Pastor Paul) wanted to address how Pastor Manning and I are planning on moving forward in this setting.
First, it’s important to note that the Gospel was controversial in the time of Christ, and it still is. Jesus calls on us to love our neighbor, (Mark 12:31, Matthew 22:36-40, John 13:34, Luke 10:27) despite our neigh- bor’s race, gender, wealth, or political affiliation. That call to love is still difficult, because we rarely act with love towards the people who we disagree with. I am guilty of this just as much as everyone else, it’s hard to act with love towards people we disagree with or even don’t like. It doesn’t feel good when we are made aware of this behavior. However, Jesus loves us when we were lost in sin, and calls on us to have that love for each other. That has been the call of the church since the beginning.
Second, Pastor Manning and I are called to be pastors in a specific setting, in the river valley of Granite Falls. I have carried a lot of habits, especially in my preaching, from my time serving at my internship site in South Minneapolis, and my time learning at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. Both of those places have different cul- tural and political values than we do out here. While I’ve been here a year, I learned how to preach in those set- tings. I realized after conversations that some of my sermons were more for the audience I was in, than the audi- ence I am in now. I apologize for the pain I’ve caused some members of this church. I will do a better job of preaching sermons that are suitable to this church in this place in this time. New mission settings call for new understanding; open ear, and open hearts, especially from myself.
Third, Pastor Manning and I are called to find the space between challenge and comfort.
Jesus says ‘God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him’ (John 3:17).
Jesus also says ‘unless you repent, you will all perish’ (Luke 13:5).
Jesus says ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs’ (Matthew 19:14).
Jesus also says ‘Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me’ (Mark 10:21b).
The teachings of Jesus are difficult to live out. As his disciples say, ‘who can be saved!?’ (Mark 10:26). Jesus responds: ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God, for God all things are possible’ (Mark 10:27). God loves us as we are, and calls us to greater righteousness. That is the gospel message Pastor Manning and I are called to preach, and that is what we aspire to. We all live uncomfortably with Jesus’ teachings, but finally we all seek comfort in that same Jesus, together in bread and wine, as members of one body of Christ.
Baptism:
Wells Torey Golberg - January 24th
Espresso Time
Espresso Time will be the 2nd and 4th
Thursdays of the month at the church, with
appropriate social distancing,
for those who are comfortable.
For the safety of all, if you are
not feeling well, please stay
home.
January Ministerial Acts
Transfer Out
Dennis Smith - St. Paul Lutheran
James (Charlie) Putnam - St. Paul Lutheran
Nathan, Amy, Abbeygale, Tiana,
&Kinsley Stewart
Deaths
Gene Koepke - January 1st
Elaine Moe - January 5th
Dee Koepke - January 15th
Updated information?
Do you have a new address, a new phone number, e-mail, or have you switched to using only a
cell phone and your land-line is no longer in use? We are in need of your updated information.
What Jesus REALLY Wants
People have stated it time and time again: in the New Testament Jesus talks about money
more than just about anything else except the Kingdom of God. But why? The answer is
simple: Jesus wants your heart.
Jesus wants nothing more than to be in relationship with you, and to have your heart
turned toward him. And Jesus and others see money and possessions as a big threat be-
cause they can turn your heart away from Jesus.
“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the
other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
wealth.” Matthew 6:24
This sums up the threat of having wealth: when you have it, you are tempted to trust it.
It’s not just a theory, but a frank observation based on experience. And when we trust
wealth, then wealth has taken the place of Jesus Christ. Jesus wants only you, and he
wants you to desire only Him.
I’ve struggled, like many of you, to really come to grips with how wealthy I really am. Pas-
tor Paul has said how a family trip to Central America really brought home to him how
many privileges and advantages he had that others didn’t. Maybe you have had the same
experience in another country, or on a Native American tribal land, or blighted urban ar-
ea. I am wealthy, and to be honest, you all have made this possible! How can I deal with
this temptation to serve myself with all I have? How will I wrestle with this next tempta-
tion? Having things is wonderful, but having things traps me, too. What can I do with this
temptation?
We can simply be generous people; to Jesus and to others. Being generous disarms temp-
tation. Being generous—not the act of giving, but the attitude, character or state of be-
ing generous—is the beginning of Jesus coming into our hearts and lives. Being generous
helps us to find the wealth of eternal life and relationship in Christ and with others. Be-
ing generous is being truly wealthy, as opposed to having a lot of “stuff.”
Jesus wants and needs you—your heart and everything else, too. But without your heart,
the stuff is pointless. For Jesus AND for you. We don’t become wealthy in order to be
generous; we become generous in order to be wealthy WITH God and Christ.
Pastor M
The Outreach Committee is preparing
fun Bible story themed take home ac-
tivities for families with toddler to
preschool aged children. Creation sto-
ry themed activity bags will be availa-
ble for pick up after church ser-
vices on February 21st or in the
church office the following week. If
you are interested in reserving a take
home bag for your child(ren), please
email Abbey Richter
(richterabbey@gmail.com) to sign up!
Do You Want to Discover Your Spiritual Type?
Have you ever wondered why some things in worship just "hit you" and others "leave you cold"?
Have you ever wondered why we Lutherans worship one way, while Pentecostals worship another way?
Have you ever tried to describe your spirituality, but never had the language to really describe it?
During Lent, beginning Ash Wednesday, February 17, Pastor Manning will be leading an engaging study ti-
tled "Discover Your Spiritual Type" after Wednesday night worship services. This is not so much a Bible
study as a study about your spiritual preferences, and how they come into play in your lives here at GFLC
and as individuals. We will try to tackle questions like:
-How do our members see this church?
-What is the spirituality type of the majority of our members?
-What ways does our church differ from other types of spiritual expression?
-What is my own personal style of spirituality?
-How well does the style of GFLC fit my personal style?
-How can I develop my spiritual life?
-Why is my expression of spirituality different from others?
One goal will be to help you each balance outward religious forms with your inner meanings. This study will
last about 40-45 minutes each night and there will be 3-4 classes, depending on the length of class discussion.
Because of the nature of our study, we urge you to invite friends and family members from different
worship traditions to come--this will make our class truly interesting as we share and learn!
Pastor Paul is going to lead a book club
(starting in February!)
Our first book will be ‘Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third
Way’ by Walter Wink. Wink writes about a ‘third way’
between violence and passivity, that spurs social change
without shedding blood. Wink primarily draws on the life
of Jesus for examples, but includes modern examples as
well. The book is short (103 pages), cheap (under $10
used), and available at many fine online book sellers, or
we can help you purchase one. We will meet on the final
Thursday of the month (February 25
th), location and time
to be determined. We hope to meet in person, but will
make provisions for folks to meet remotely as well. If you
are interested in participating, please email Pastor Paul
(pastorpaul@granitefallslutheran.com) or call the church
office (320-564-3746).
Newsletter Deadline
Book Study Discussion Time: TBD
Want to Sign Up for Electronic Giving?
Go to the Granite Falls Lutheran Website. (www.granitefallslutheran.com) On the home page you will see a link titled “Give Online” towards the upper right part of your screen. From there you will be able to complete the easy sign-up. This is a simple way to pre- arrange offerings to the church.
Direct link to Simply Giving sign up: click here
1 Griffin Anderson 11 Vicky Lewis 17 Isabelle Stark 1 Molly Barborek 11 Racquel Rolla 18 Carl Imes
1 JoAnn Fromm 11 Alissa Siefkes 18 Kylie Knollenberg 2 Ashley Soine 11 Jack Tjosvold 19 Benay Cole 2 David Syring 12 Linda Dahl 19 Eleanor Erickson
2 Owen Torvik 12 Stacey Parks 19 Mavis Lewis
4 Shana Roskens 13 Michael Aus 20 Aubree Enstad
4 Tanner Kotek 13 John Ims 20 Gregory Fagen
5 Chad Friese 13 Douglas Jans 20 Travis Hempel
5 Abby Gullickson 13 Kolten Blankenhagen 21 Barry Anderson
5 Jill Meyer 13 Gail Opdahl 21 Kim Malmquist
5 Peggy Schindler 14 Todd Balfany 21 Thomas Midthun 6 Bill Dinesen 14 Connor Fagen 21 Daniel Walters 7 Dianne Barber 14 Gage Johnson 22 Otillia Balfany 7 Herbert Calley 15 Karen Baker 22 David Bredeson 7 Dalton Anderson 15 Jacob Peterson 22 Joshua Foy 8 Karen Anderson 16 Liam Anderson 22 Marie Risa 8 Robert Carter 16 Lois Appelwick 22 Larry Thielen 8 Samuel Ohliger 16 Andrew Arneson 24 Pamela Wilkening 9 Lynn Johnson 16 Torey Golberg 26 LaVerne Korthuis 10 Eyvonne Hoese 16 David Haroldson 26 Brody Sannerud 10 Travis Roskens 16 Michael Ohliger Jr. 27 Matthew R. Johnson
11 Hope Foy 16 Sarana West 28 Eunice Skeie
17 Kayla Nordaune
Monthly Community Dinner
The monthly community meals are cancelled until further
notice due to Covid-19.
Granite Falls Lutheran Church
350 9th Avenue
Granite Falls, MN 56241
www.granitefallslutheran.com
Phone: 320-564-3746
Admin Assistant
Mark Manning
Lead Pastor
pastormark@granitefallslutheran.com
Paul Drees
Associate Pastor
pastorpaul@granitefallslutheran.com
Valerie Santjer
Parish Administrator
WELCA
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1
The past year we have all experienced new ways to do things. Our youth and educators found a new way of schooling, senior citizens, and those living in congregate living settings, experiencing little or no contact with family and friends. At times it was hard to understand what the ‘purpose under heaven’ of this time was for.
February 13th we will begin the season of Lent, a time when we walk with Jesus and experience the way that He lived during the last days of His life on earth. It certainly couldn’t have been an easy journey for Him just as 2020 wasn’t easy for us, but Jesus knew that His father was beside Him all the way and God even knew what trials He would encounter. We too can be assured that God is with us each step of the way as we brave our way into this ‘new normal’ way of living.
As the quote from Ecclesiastes states, ‘to everything there is a season’. Jesus no doubt spent full days in ministry, preaching, teaching, and healing those who flocked to Him. But at the close of His ministry- intensive hours, Jesus spent time with his friends. We are not only wise to follow His example – it appears to be the way we were created! Will you take time with your friends by making a phone call, writing a letter or sending a card? ‘Take time! ‘
Dates to remember:
Dinner at Your Door: February 14 – 20; Group 4
Quilting: February 23-24, 1pm-4pm; Snacks by Group 2
The executive committee thanks you for your favorable response to the letters of request for mone- tary donations in 2020. 2021 request letters or emails will be sent out in February. We look forward to your willingness to again support the work of GFLC WELCA.
** WELCA BOOKS are available to pick up in the east entry.**
