January/February 2014

Quick! Quiz time! Do you remember the mission statement for Red Oak Grove? [insert Jeopardy music] If you said this:

Gathering in grace, growing in faith, going forth to serve

then you are correct! Last year, we were all about gathering in grace. We hosted a free community meal. We opened our building to 4H groups and Cub Scouts. We invited people to gather with us at events like the polka worship service, Strawberry Festival, the cowboy worship service, auction, and WELCA guest day. We gathered in worship and fellowship every Sunday. We are a congregation that loves to gather, to greet one another, to be together. As we enter a new year, we dont forget about what it means to gather in grace. Its a part of who we are and we continue to do just that, just as we will always go forth to serve. But, this year, we will focus on what it means to grow in faith. Perhaps here it would be helpful to have a working definition of faith so we know what it is exactly we are growing in. According to Hebrews 11, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. According to the dictionary, faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something; also, a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. And, according to Martin Luther: Faith is a living daring confidence in Gods grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times . Martin Luther is also quoted as saying that faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing. Whichever of those definitions hit closest to home for you, how will you grow in faith? How will that living, busy, active, mighty thing shape your everyday life? How will we together as a community grow in faith? What would Red Oak Grove look and feel like at the end of the year if we dedicate ourselves to growing in this living, busy, active, mighty thing? How would our lives differ if we, together, committed to growing in faith? Lets find out. Im excited for another year of ministry with all of you, exploring what God is up to in our midst! Pastor Lindsay

Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church Council Minutes December 15, 2013 A meeting was called to order by President Diane Maxwell. A short list of items needed to be addressed. Follow up on the elevator, having received an estimate from a company in St. Ansgar, trustees will continue to work on a resolution, checking with members that worked on the original committee when the elevator was installed. The speaker in the nursery can the volume be turned down? Thank you to the WELCA for the donation to the church budget. The Treasurers Report was accepted as read. No further business was discussed, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted, Laura Tjomsland, Council Secretary

The Annual Meeting for Prairie Manor Inc. dba Prairie Manor Care Center and Heather Haus will be held at 7:00 p.m. on January 21, 2014 in the Chapel.

For Sale: Two steel doors, in good condition, from the Sunday School wing. Make an offer. If you have questions, contact Bob Kittelson. If you have a report to be included in the Annual Report, please leave it in the office by January 19, 2014. Thank you. If you would like a copy of your Contribution Statement for 2013, please let the church office know. There are still some 2014 offering envelopes in the narthex to be picked up. Be sure to take yours and distribute any family members envelopes that are still there. Thank you.

This year, through the LOG and other avenues, we together will explore stewardship and what it means to be stewards of Gods creation. Being stewards of Gods creation is about growing in faith and growing in our lives as disciples. We begin with a word: generosity. I looked generosity up in the dictionary. The quality of being kind and generous. Okay, that doesnt quite get to the root of it so I looked up generous. (of a person) showing a readiness to give more of something, as money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected. Yes! Thats the definition I was looking to find. I want to start here, with generosity, because as the year of 2013 ended, that is the word consistently came to mind. I want to thank you for your continued generous giving to the church. For the giving you put in the offering plate and for the food you piled in our shopping cart. For the coins in the Noisy Coin bucket each month and the soap for health kits. For the time spent sewing quilt tops and the handmade Christmas cards for our homebound members. One particular way I was struck by generosity came completely unexpectedly. I received an email one morning from Lisa Reese, a member of ROG and agent at AgStar. She said she had a surprise for the church and wanted to drop it off that afternoon. That surprise was a $750 check from AgStar! AgStar generously dedicated money for each of their agents to designate to local, community organizations and Lisa generously chose the Red Oak Grove youth fund. What a gift! Over the past year, there was much more generous giving that happened than could ever be listed here. Did you know that because you designate your Choice Dollars, the generous people of Thrivent gave $3,198 to Red Oak Grove last year? Its not only financial either. Generosity takes many other forms. Those of you who plow the parking lots; those of you who teach Sunday School; those of you are available with a phone call to come meet with construction crews, paint a wall, or help with unexpected church maintenance; those of you who organize our Sunday mornings together by finding volunteers; and so much more. Those of you who continue to give generously to Red Oak Grove and its ministry tell an important story with your giving and your actions: what we do together is important. What we do both in and outside of these doors is important ministry. Its really not about paying the bills; its about growing in relationship with Jesus. Its about being disciples and sharing the love of God. Thank you for your readiness to give more of something, as money or time [or food for the food shelf or skills or love for our children/youth], than is strictly necessary or expected. Thank you for your generosity.

Will you share your faith?

This Lent, one of the ways we will focus on the second part of our mission statement is by inviting everyone to grow in faith together through devotion. Beginning now, the office will be collecting your own reflections on faith and your own faith stories. We will compile such reflections and stories into a devotional booklet. This booklet will be available to all of you before Lent begins, available for all of us to journey through Lent, growing in faith together. Are you interested in sharing your faith by writing a reflection for a day of the Lenten season? If so, talk to Pastor Lindsay. Wed love to hear your story.

Red Oak Grove Church Thank you for the beautiful quilt you donated to Nicks end of radiation party! We are very thankful for all the thoughts, prayers and well wishes we have received while fighting this. Thank you, Nick and Laurie Smith Thank you to all for the kind Christmas cards and gifts! Thank you also for the money to put towards my student loans; it helps immensely! When I write about generosity, I think also of how generous you are to me as your pastor! Pastor Lindsay Thank you to all who filled the cart with food at the end of last year. Half of the food was donated to the Salvation Army in Austin; half to the Steele County Food Shelf in Owatonna. Together, we collected over 100 items. Thank you for your participation in filling the cart!

Current 8th graders thru 11th graders: mark your calendars! The ELCA National Youth Gathering [which happens every three years] will be held in Detroit on July 15th 19th, 2015. In the coming months, watch for more info. If you are interested in attending, we will begin serious discussion about the trip early this summer! Confirmation: PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN DATES ON THE CALENDAR. We WILL have confirmation on January 15th and will NOT have confirmation on the 29th. [PL will be out of town.] The Confirmation youth rang bells for the Salvation Army one Wednesday in December. A letter we received at the church read like this: Your group raised a total of $104.05 for this years campaign. I want to extend a great big thank you from all of us at the Austin Salvation Army. Thanks, confirmands, for being involved in that service project!