Christus Victor Lutheran Church

Maundy Thursday, April 1

4th Annual Spaghetti Dinner – 5:30pm-6:45pm

Maundy Thursday Worship – 7:00pm

(special drama and music by JIFY)

Good Friday, April 2

Good Friday Worship – 7:00pm

Holy Saturday, April 3

Preparations and decorating for Easter – 9:00am

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit . If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” John 20: 21-23

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I thought I understood what Confession and Forgiveness were all about.  After all, I have been a Lutheran my whole life and every Sunday in worship we begin our worship with the Confession and Absolution. I can almost say the words from the LBW in my sleep, “I confess that I am in bondage to sin and cannot free myself. I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed; by what I have done and by what I have not done…” As a kid, those 10 seconds of silence for self-examination seemed to last forever, as I tried to tell God the worst sins of the week that I could remember, — mostly having to do with squabbles between my sister and I – or conflicts with my friends. Then, the pastor would announce that we were forgiven by Jesus Christ, and sometimes I’d “feel better.”  Other times the words went in one ear and out the other. But, aside from asking forgiveness directly from people I’ve hurt or wronged in some way, I have never confessed my sins in front of another person, let alone a whole group of people – until last summer.

As part of the men’s retreat I attended last summer, we were to spend a couple of hours alone in the woods, reflecting on and writing down the things (sins) of our lives that were a burden and barrier to our life and faith with God. That was hard and painful enough, but to find out that we would then be sharing our list of sins, failures, and brokenness in front of a group of men, that was almost too much to handle. Yet after the tears of pain, frustration, guilt, shame and deep hurt of my sins came out, these men all laid hands on me and prayed for me and in Jesus’ name forgave my sins! The power and presence of the Holy Spirit flowed through those men as they prayed for me and forgave me my sins! How can I describe the cleansing, healing and joy from that experience of God’s grace? Singing “Amazing Grace” barely touches the reality of the healing power of God’s forgiveness. Yet this Amazing Grace is the command and power that Jesus gives to us by the Holy Spirit, to forgive sins! We forgiven sinners get to be bearers of the Good News of Easter, that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and through faith in Him we have the forgiveness of our sins, the hope of the resurrection to eternal life, and the salvation of our souls.

“If you hunger and thirst for the forgiveness that comes from the gift of confession, to go a step deeper than the Corporate Confession and Forgiveness in Sunday morning worship, I invite you to call me to set up a time for a Individual Confession and Forgiveness. We will walk together through a process to prepare you for this sacred rite of the Church. And let us all receive and share this powerful gift given to us by Jesus Christ!

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Kent Claussen Gubrud

April 2010 Newsletter

Please join us for the annual silent auction for the Mission Committee of Christus Victor – on Sunday, March 21. The sounds of the Dominican Republic and Tanzania will be woven into our 8:30am and 11:00am worship service and the auction is scheduled from 9:45 to 10:45. Funds raised will go to our partnership congregation in Tanzania and to send four Christus Victor ambassadors to Africa in August 2010. Contact KC Claussen Gubrud at 612-722-2896 or email her at kcgkcg@msn.com with any questions.

If you are willing to fill a basket, follow these simple steps:

1. Pick up a basket from the CV office or find some other container to fill;
2. Be creative & fill it;
3. Return it to the CV office by Sunday, March 14th

On March 21st, we need basket bidders. If you are willing to bid on a basket, follow these simple steps:

1. Join us on March 29 at 9:30 am in the Fellowship Hall;
2. Bid on a basket – or 2 or 3;
3. Enjoy some African coffee, treats, music & fellowship;
4. Watch your bids and be sure to rebid so you outbid your friends.

This year’s Baskets of Love event goes to support our partnership congregation in Tanzania and the ambassadors from Christus Victor who will travel to Tanzania in August 2010.