The Week of January 25

Greetings from Swedlanda!

This past week has been a busy one at Swedlanda. We hosted the pastors of our Minnesota Valley Conference on Tuesday. David J., Bernice C., Eileen R., and Nancy S. served a wonderful coffee and noon meal and Emily L. accompanied the worship service. It was also Inauguration Day, which was full of excitement and hope. After the pastors left, the quilters arrived and spent the afternoon in mission.

Today is the Third Sunday after the Epiphany. The focus was on God’s redeeming love and our discipleship. The Potter who creates and redeems us chooses us for mission, even though we might be flawed (like Pastor Stewart's squirrel from the 7th grade). This afternoon there will be an ecumenical service at Zion Lutheran Church in Buffalo Lake, with pastors from Hector, Buffalo Lake, and Stewart taking part. Then I will be on my way to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for a week of continuing education at Luther Seminary. I am in a class on Missional Leadership.

I have listed a few announcements below and as usual, the sermon for the day is available through the link on the right.

Have a good week and may God bless you.

Pastor Stewart

This week the Luther League meets at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. This is a change from the time on the church calendar.

Swedlanda Family Sunday School is next Sunday, February 1 at 9:10 a.m. Be sure to come early for great fellowship and refreshments as we share our stories of faith. This is an intergenerational event for people of all ages.

The Wednesday morning Bible Study begins at 8:00 a.m. Bring your Bible and join us. No preparation necessary as we study the text for the week in light of our discipleship.

The Swedlanda Women of the ELCA will have a Unit Meeting on Thursday, February 5 at 1:30 p.m. Nancy S. has the program and hostesses are Nancy S. and Mary.

"The Journey to South Africa," a documentary film based on the SW MN Synod Companionship relationship with the Southeastern Diocese of South Africa, will air 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m. Feb. 8 and 3 p.m. Feb. 15. This is a Pioneer Public Television production.

Congregations in the Minnesota Valley Conference are working with the Vryheid Circuit of South Africa to build a similar partnership. This documentary is a good example of what can happen when we work together in ministry. A copy of the program will be available at the synod office.

Our conference partnership committee is working to bring Pastor Scotty Khumalo and Mr. Moses Mahlangu to our MN Valley Conference next June. So far $1,300 has been raised of our $8,000 goal. These two leaders come from our partner circuit - the Vryheid Circuit of the SE Diocese of the Lutheran Church in South Africa.

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The Week of January 18

Greetings from Swedlanda,

What a nice change from the cold weather we have been having! It is nearly 40 degrees warmer than it was just a few days ago. But several families from the Swedlanda congregations have found even warmer places to be. Ruth A. just wrote me that it was in the 80’s in Arizona. We still have snow and drifting, however. The snow plow blew away the lighted globes on either side of the walk in front of the church. One was located in the field to the south this morning.

Our focus for the day was on the call to discipleship. The women’s choir sang a very appropriate offering that really fit that theme. Their addition to worship is much appreciated.

Today I was able to update the congregation on the schedule for my radiation treatments. They will begin on February 2 and end on April 1; 8:00 a.m., M-F at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. It is my intention to continue my usual schedule insofar as I can. Thank you for your many prayers and support.

In the Prayers of the Church we remembered our nation’s leaders in anticipation of the inauguration to be held on Tuesday. It will be a historic event. My daughter Teresa’s job with airport security has taken her to D.C. temporarily, but she is expecting to be quite busy on Tuesday with all the additional people who have been traveling to the area. I will be busy that day also, as Swedlanda is hosting the pastors of our Conference at their monthly meeting.

As this is the third Sunday of the month, we added the following prayer for our companions in South Africa:

Lord, as we pray for your church throughout the world, we pray especially for our partner churches in the Vryheid (“FreeHeet”) Circuit in South Africa’s Southeastern Diocese. Lead their Dean to overcome obstacles in preparing for his visit to our Minnesota Valley Conference-ELCA and our Synod Assembly in June 2009. Grace the retirement of Bishop Sibiya with a sense of “Well done”, and uplift newly elected Bishop Buthelezi unto a strong vision of gospel, service and partnership in Christ’s name.

A few announcements follow. As usual, the sermon for today is available through the link on the right.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Stewart

Announcements:

Our conference partnership committee is working to bring Pastor Scotty Khumalo and Mr. Moses Mahlangu to our MN Valley Conference next June. So far $1,300 has been raised of our $8,000 goal. These two leaders come from our partner circuit - the Vryheid Circuit of the SE Diocese of the Lutheran Church in South Africa.

As many of you know, Keagan T. (Matt & MarKeela) has been doctoring at the Mayo Clinic. Keagan was born premature with major digestive, breathing and other complications. While at Mayo we stay at the Ronald McDonald House, they go above and beyond to make us feel as at home as possible. I would like to show our appreciation by collecting blankets and other donations to donate to the House, at our next visit. We will be collecting donations up to the time of Keagan's next appt. on Monday February 9. Thank you for your generosity, Keagan T. & Family. You may bring any donations to the church or contact Doug T. for pick-up.

An ecumenical service will be held during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 25^th at Zion Lutheran Church in Buffalo Lake. Offerings will go to the Renville County Food Shelf. Please join the community of faith as we recognize our oneness in Jesus Christ.

The Week of January 11

Greetings from Swedlanda!

Today we celebrated The Baptism of Our Lord. The morning began with the Swedlanda Family Sunday School led by Bernice C. We broke up into small groups and used Faith Talk cards to do some sharing about our faith. I discovered some things I didn’t know about members I have known over 20 years. It was a very enriching experience.

The Swedlanda Choir started out our worship service by singing for our Prelude. The sermon was accompanied by a few slides in a Power Point presentation. Both are available through the link on the right. If you need an invitation from me to be able to access them, please send an email and I would be glad to oblige you. You will need a hotmail or msn account (available for free).

As a part of my message, I made an announcement to the congregation regarding my health. Unfortunately, a review of my pathology report from my cancer surgery revealed there was some indication of cancer cells in the “margins.” This means I will need radiation therapy. I will let everyone know more after I consult with a radiation oncologist. My thanks for your prayers.

Following the Service of Holy Communion, the congregation adjourned to the Fellowship Hall for a potluck meal, which was fantastic. After that, the Annual Meeting of the Cemetery Association was held. Don E. and Neil C. were elected to the Board and Dave L. was re-elected. This meeting was followed by the Annual Meeting of the Congregation. The following were elected to office: Council Members for 3 year terms-Bonnie E., Jerome F., and Erik D.; Nominating Committee for 1 year terms-Keri A., Jill B., Brian L., and Kurt S.; Auditing Committee for 1 year terms-Tom G., Julie H., and Judy J. After the Annual Meeting, the Congregational Council elected the following officers: Calvin A., President; Jill B., Vice President, Keri A., Secretary; and Kevin A., Treasurer. The Exhibit reported 2 baptisms, one member funeral, and the accession of 4 members by transfer. This resulted in an increase of 5 baptized members for a total of 263 and an increase of 2 confirmed members for a total of 225.

I submitted my Annual Report, but gave a Power Point presentation for the Swedlanda Congregation that I developed for a Doctor of Ministry session on the Missional Church. In it, I explored some of the metaphors for our congregation and some of our challenges in terms of Christian practices. I have added both of these to the sermon link on the right. If you have trouble viewing the Power Point presentation, please let me know.

Finally, I noted in our bulletin that Bishop Mark Hanson, Bishop Jon Anderson and nearly 40 other bishops of our Lutheran church have been visiting in Jordan, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the West Bank. This trip was scheduled before recent hostilities broke out, but has taken on a deeper significance. Bishop Hanson writes: “We are expressing the solidarity of our church bodies with our Christian brothers and sisters and witnessing to both the suffering and the hope of many in this sacred and troubled land.” There is a blog available on the internet about their travels at http://blogs.elca.org/09cobacademy/

May God bless you in the New Year with a deepening awareness of Christ’s presence.

Pastor Stewart