Christus Victor Lutheran Church

Happy Hearts + Helping Hands = Healthy Babies!

Many thanks from Social Ministries for helping make our annual Midwife Kit ministry project such a great success. This was our 9th year putting together these live saving gifts and we feel blessed that this project continues to have such a special place in the hearts of so many of you.

Our cradle was filled each week with your generous donations, which enabled us to assemble 310 kits this year. A sincere and heartfelt thank you to Andrea Robens and her mother, Karen Wilson for their nearly year-round involvement in this ministry as garage sale mega-shoppers, hat makers, and for serging hundreds of onesies into t-shirts for the project. We simply would not be able to assemble as many kits as we do every year without their invaluable involvement. Many thanks also to Dawn Glewwe and Susan Edmans confirmation group who not only made beautiful handmade blankets for the project, but enthusiastically joined us to assemble the kits.

Thanks so much to everyone from Christus Victor and Lily of the Valley that came to celebrate Mothers Day a little early by helping assemble kits. We had a total of 28 volunteers cheerfully buzzing around from table to table collecting the items needed for each kit and then boxing them up. This year at the last minute we found ourselves unexpectedly short of approximately 30 blankets needed for kits that were otherwise ready to go. Members of Lily of the Valley saved the day by running out to purchase the needed blankets- ladies, you are awesome and much
appreciated!

Hard to believe that just a few simple supplies zipped into a plastic bag can have such a powerful impact in saving lives of both mothers and babies half-way around the world. This simplicity and the beauty of helping usher in new life continues to draw us together in ministry and love, and for that, we from Social Ministries are so very grateful!

Starting on Friday May 22, I will be on sabbatical until Monday, August 17. In previous newsletters and public forums I have shared at length my plans for refreshing and re-energizing for ministry. But being the kind of person who needs to process and share their experiences and discoveries, I will be writing a regular BLOG that people will be able to access via the Christus Victor website. The Pastor On The Loose blog will include reflections, book reports, and interviews with pastors and church leaders, worship reviews of other churches I will be visiting, and maybe a picture or two as well. I hope those who read the blog will be challenged and encouraged in their own growth and learning.

I need your help! For this sabbatical time to benefit the whole congregation, I am asking you to not only pray for me during my time away, but to participate in my learning and growing. I would like to invite you to consider joining one of three different groups of church members to do your own reading and reflecting on the same books I will be reading and reflecting on over the course of my sabbatical this summer.

• One group made up of junior and senior high youth and their parents will read and reflect on Frogs Without Legs Can’t Hear, by David Anderson and Paul Hill. I hope that this will compliment the work that will be going on around the Youth Ministry Management Plan with Corey, the Youth Committee and Tentmakers, and the work that Pastor Laura and the Children and Family Ministries Committee is doing on their GIFT ministry.
• A second group made up of young men and older men will read and reflect on Adams Return: the Five Promises of Male Initiation, by Richard Rohr. I will actually be participating in this Male Initiation, and so will bring fresh, real life experience to the discussion and be eager to hear what others are thinking about Male Spirituality.
• A third group of adults will read and reflect on The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, by Eugene Peterson. If you are interested in prayer and spiritual direction, this would be
  a great book for you.

In the two months after I return from my sabbatical I will be meeting with these three groups separately to discuss with each other our reflections and ideas that come out of our shared reading. This will give me a chance to share with a wide spectrum of people from the congregation, in an intimate and less formal setting, some of my experiences and discoveries from my sabbatical time. It will also provide some common ground for discussion around ideas and thoughts on how we can improve or change how we pass on the faith from one generation to another and from one person to another through the ministries of our church.

10:00am in the Art Room Bring your Bible and join us for a rousing journey into Gods Word. You don’t need to know anything about the Bible, just a willingness to read, ask questions, and learn. Just show up at 10:00am on Thursday mornings, we’ll provide the coffee!

Current Book: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

As everyone is aware, we are in the midst of a global economic downturn. Members of our congregation have been laid off, some have had their salaries and benefits cut, or are experiencing other financial hardships. At the annual meeting in January we approved a deficit budget of over $26,000 for the whole year, which we could cover through our cash reserves. So far, our TOTAL OFFERINGS for 2009 are down by 10.5%, and we will have used up all of our undesignated cash reserves by mid-June. That leaves us with the task of covering a projected deficit of $53,000 for the rest of 2009, as well as evaluate how to move forward in our mission to “Serve Christ and Community with Faith, Love, and Open Arms” for 2010.

On Tuesday, May 19, the Church Council met to discuss options and develop a plan of action to address this challenge and get the input and involvement of all of the members of Christus Victor. Here is the plan so far

• We will tap the Capital Fund of $25,000 (We will not touch the Building Improvement Loan Funds, nor the Emergency Repair Funds).
• We will be convening Focus Groups throughout the church to help us brainstorm solutions and then implement the best ideas. FIRST FOCUS GROUP is Sunday, June 14, after the 10am service! Meet in the sanctuary.
• All Committees will be instructed to cut where they can, and, come up with creative funding ideas to accomplish their ministry and mission.
• Everyone is encouraged to set up electronic bill paying to stay current in their giving.
• We will go to all of the groups that use the church building to ask for increased donations. (Casa de Oracion has pledged $500 a month, which is 50% of their total offerings!)
• We will tap into unused In/Out funds.
• We will look into alternative fundraising ideas for our benevolence.
• Staff members will take on the janitorial responsibilities, along with CV volunteers.
• We will need to cut staff pay.

The Church has always struggled with the need for money to accomplish its mission and ministry. Very few people in church want to talk about money and giving, whether asking or being asked. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul writes, “But just as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (v. 7). Giving does not come naturally to us for some reason, but it is part of our growth in faith and love of Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us; “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (v. 9). Instead of getting caught in negative and anxious thinking, we need to constantly remember all of our blessings that come from God, most especially the gift of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. “For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have” (v. 12), in other words, when we give of our time, our talents, and our treasures with willing hearts, God will bless our gifts. As we together think creatively and passionately about how we can continue to support and grow our ministry and mission through this congregation, God will work through us to find a way and bless our efforts.

Thank you to every one of you who gives your precious time, your amazing talents, and your hard earned treasures to support the many ministries of Christus Victor Lutheran Church. Please contact us if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas you’d like to help implement.

Yours in Christ,
The Church Council – Pastor Kent Claussen Gubrud, Pastor Laura Duffee, John Perendy, Mike Orman, Kathy Wittnebel, Tom McDonald, Steve Nierengarten, Lois Stark, Barb Damlo, Mike Rand, and Bob Matthys

Dear CV Friends and Family,

I want to thank you for allowing me this Sabbatical time to refresh, renew, and re-energize for the sake of my own growth in faith and understanding, and for the future ministry and mission of Jesus Christ in and through our church. You can keep up with my discoveries and reflections on my blog http://www.pastorontheloose.com.

In 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul points out that every Christian has been given different gifts of the Spirit for the building up of the Body of Christ/the Church, for the purpose of making disciples, serving the world in His name, and for building up the Kingdom of God. We are each uniquely created and uniquely gifted. In Corrine Wares book, Discover Your Spiritual Type, she reminds us that we also have our own unique spirituality, how we experience and come to God, as well as how we live out our faith. The four basic spiritual types are: the Head (Thinkers), the Heart (Feelers), Mystics (Being), and Kingdom (Doers). There isnt just one way of being spiritual, both experiencing and expressing our faith in God.

Congregations have dominant spiritual types as well, a reflection of the individual spiritual types. Our tendency is to think of one spiritual type as being better or worse than another, just like we tend to judge churches by their size and whether we like their music and programs. Instead, I am challenged to look at how God has uniquely created and blessed each of us, and has brought us together for the purpose of working together to grow in faith through Christs love, serve our neighbors with open arms, all of which helps to grow the Kingdom. That’s who we are and what we do: “Serving Christ and Community with Faith, Love, and Open Arms.” Keep that in your mind this summer, wherever you go, and whatever you do. And remember, wherever you go, Christ goes with you! See you after the garage sale!

In Christ,
Pastor Kent Claussen Gubrud

Spirit Bound will arrive home to Christus Victor Sunday afternoon. Everyone is invited to be there to welcome them home in Christus Victor style with a stupendous POT LUCK SUPPER. Please bring a Main Dish and a Salad or Dessert.

• Pot Luck Supper at 5:00pm
• Homecoming Performance at 7:00pm