GOD’S STORY WRITTEN ON THE WORLD

/in /by

From my earliest remembrances, my life began taking shape around stories. I remember the stories played from the 45rpm records at bedtime in the room I shared with my sister and brother, stirring my imagination in the moments before sleep. I remember the Bible stories told in Sunday School with the aid of a flannel board and the stories we read in our school’s elementary readers. I can still picture the covers of story anthologies titled Singing Wheels, Down the River Road, Day in and Day Out, Engine Whistles, Through the Green Gate. Then, of course, there was the recreational reading about the Hardy Boys, books by Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson, or later the science fiction paperbacks that friends traded around like baseball cards. At family gatherings, a too rare but favorite moment was when grandpa, aunts and great-aunts, occasionally even mom and dad told stories about our family and their fond remembrances of relatives and events in Norway or of growing up.

Stories open up for us a world of imagination, knowledge, perspective and relationship. Stories invite us in and sometimes become a part of us, become a part of informing us, entertaining us, and shaping us. And the older I get, the more I am aware of the story that is us. The story that is uniquely me and the stories unique to others I meet. One of the most amazing, blessed and privileged things I get to do as pastor is hear people tell me their stories. Hearing couples about to be married telling how their two stories are becoming one; hearing families dealing with death reminisce with me about the one they have lost and loved; hearing people at a crossroads in life sharing how they got there and the choices they see ahead of them; hearing young people tell me of their passions, questions and insights.

Throughout this worship year, in a variety of ways, we are focusing in on the theme “God’s Story Written on the World.” It is an amazing, compelling, life-affirming and life-changing story written on the events in people’s lives, the pages of Scripture, illustrated on the canvas of creation and through images like the Cross and empty tomb. For us, the heart and soul of it is the story of Jesus. We love to tell that story and we love to learn it and learn from it. We love it when people share their stories of faith and life events and invite us in to the miracle that is unfolding in and around them.

So, here are the seasonal themes: Fall: We Love to Tell the Story, Advent and Christmas: Once Upon a Manger, Epiphany: Seeing Jesus in a World of Black and White (book study on Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White by Adam Hamilton, the author of our book study last January Half Truths), Lent: Life Is Not A Fairy Tale ,Easter: Turning the Page, and Summer: The Story that Is You.

Expect to hear the stories of Scripture and faith. Expect to hear about our Lutheran story and our Mount Calvary story. Expect opportunities to share your story or hear someone tell theirs. Expect that the story God has written and is writing on the world will guide and inspire you. And know that it matters deeply that you know and share the story God is writing on, with and through you. It’s why we’re here!

The Mount Calvary Foundation Belongs to You

/in /by

Greetings from your Board of Trustees. From time to time, I remind us all that the Foundation is owned by the entire adult congregation. The Board represents you as we strive to maintain proper stewardship of your assets. We also follow the guidelines established over twenty years ago, that we split our grants among three groups: Local Support of MCLC, Regional Assistance to non-profits in our community, and International Support to projects where our assistance can make a definite difference.

In our last meeting, we voted to provide a $5000 grant toward the synod’s support of Gethsemane Lutheran Church in north Minneapolis. They have recently received a warning that their kitchen must be brought up to code by August. This will require a major overhaul. The kitchen enables the church to provide community meals, a major outreach; and to provide food to the in-house preschool and day-care center. This is a major revenue source for the church. MCLC members are helping plan and make the necessary alterations to the kitchen, which will total about $30,000. Pastor Dave is personally involved in making this a successful venture for the inner city.

On the other side of things, we adopted a proposal from RBC Wealth Management to alter our relationship as we manage our asset base of now over $600,000. “FLUID strategies” uses new technology and data analytics to better stay on top of the vagaries of the market and be more reactive to keeping their actions in line with our investment strategies and tolerance for risk. We expect a slight improvement in the return on our investments, but not a major change in how we manage our growth. David Distad and I are very encouraged to move in this direction. See either one of us if you have questions.

We continue to invite interested “owners” to consider joining the board. The time commitment is quite small, about ten meetings a year that last from 7:30 to 8:30am. We meet the second Tuesday of most months. See any trustee if you are interested.

The Call from His House

/in /by

It seems like every summer I write about local homeless issues. I looked back on some of my previous Caller articles about families sleeping in their cars at the His House Thrift Store, at churches, and other parking lots in this community. I’ve written about driving the homeless to a shelter only to be turned away because the shelters are full. We have bought tents so families can “live” in the campground indefinitely. And His House created an emergency hotel fund that every year is used beyond the balance.

This article is not about a success story…because I don’t have one. I only have my experience of meeting people so desperate that they are standing at the local grocery store asking for help.
I’m not sure this congregation knows that the His House team has taken this difficult challenge on: to address the needs of a person that feels there is no other solution but to hold a sign at the corner. We receive phone calls, texts, and emails from community members letting us know at what intersection they see someone with a sign asking for help.

This work is the most difficult, heart wrenching, and wonderful work we are called to do. Someone is so desperate, so broken and tired that they see no other option but to stand at an intersection. We can meet this person and offer hope.

I don’t have an answer or idea about solving these issues…that’s for people smarter than me. This article is just about a “call.” The His House call that many in this church and community receive. The call to lift up the broken and tired and share our blessings with others who are desperate and tired.

It’s All About the Why

/in /by

“It’s not what you do, it’s why you do it that matters.”

This is the message of a TED talk Council member Steve Benson shared at our May meeting. In the video, Simon Sinek observed how companies that market an aspiration or outcome are more successful than those promoting a product. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sioZd3AxmnE).

I was wishing Mr. Sinek’s video had preceded this recent conversation with a friend in Atlanta:

ME: Starting around July 1st, Mount Calvary is finally upgrading the parking lot and restrooms. Parishioners will have to put up with construction dust and alternate facilities until it’s done in 6-8 weeks. But at least there are no porta-potties.

HE: Seriously?

ME: You betcha. We have amazingly generous members, a talented finance committee, and a Leadership team who knows how to work the City permit process.

HE: I know Jesus was born in a stable, but don’t you think bathrooms and a car park is taking the stall concept a bit too far?

ME: (long pause). So how about them Twins?

HE: Don’t you mean Braves?

Not one of my better exchanges. Perhaps I would have been more successful explaining why these Mission Forward investments are so important.

Mount Calvary is an open and welcoming congregation. That message of accommodation demands a place for everyone, including within our parking lot. We want to welcome congregants to a church, not a bank. We wish to uplift the spirit without a Sunday demolition derby. We strive to strengthen our Kowalski/Oppidan partnership with simplified lot sharing. We long to be a better neighbor offering improved parking facilities to Excelsior visitors. We seek to enrich our invitation to community groups enjoying our building.

Likewise, we want everyone that enters our facility to feel comfortable and safe. It is bad enough that regulars must trek to the restroom. Consider the quest required of infrequent visitors. Also, by eliminating traffic through the preschool, we enable improved security for our kids.

As with all construction projects, July and August will be a bit challenging. Please accept our apologies if your favorite parking space is a crater or your restroom journey is a bit elongated. We appreciate your patience as we work to extend Mount Calvary’s warm embrace.

Questions? Write me at CouncilPresident@MountCalvary.org.

Doug Affinito,
Council President

Vacation Bible School (VBS) Do good. Seek peace. Go after it!

/in /by

It’s summer! Hurray! No more homework! No more books! No more teachers’ dirty looks! Kids can’t wait for school to get out. The sun is warm, the sky is blue, and the ice cream is cold. And one of the best parts of summer? VBS at Mount Calvary!

VBS is a program for children ages 3 through the 5th grade to learn about Jesus, the Bible, being Lutheran, and what it means to be a good citizen of the world, in a fun, active environment. This year’s VBS theme, “Hero Central: Discover Your Strength in God” promoted the idea that within each one of us is the ability to be God’s super heroes.

This week, I had the opportunity to observe a session of group worship, and to interview the Youth Director, two of the counselors, and two campers. It was so great to see how the older counselors interacted with the young campers. I mean, who is cooler than a high school kid to an elementary student?

Charlie Dutton is a counselor now, but he remembers how he loved the older counselors when he was a camper, and it’s obvious the kids love him. His buddy, Jack, was with him when we talked, and Charlie was helping Jack perfect his superhero jumping skills. The kids made superhero capes in art class and Charlie said Jack’s superhero cape said “Jumping Jack” on the back. As Andrea F-G says, “Faith is built through trusted relationships. When they can connect with their people, God’s story makes sense. Kids are living out this story.”

Charlie Groton also grew up attending VBS as a camper. He went on to become a counselor, and now leads the camp’s outdoor recreation. The kids love the outdoor games, especially tag – (and this is not your grandma’s “tag”). They play Blob Tag, Freeze Tag, and – everyone’s favorite – Fastest Tag in the West.

Playing outside, crafting, and singing together is great for making friends. Like Charlie D says, “Everybody makes friends at VBS”. Campers Lillian J. and Ruby told me they had made many friends already, and it was only Tuesday! I asked them their favorite part of VBS, and they said “Everything!” They definitely had a favorite song though – “I Want My Life to Make a Difference” which is a great song to go along with the Bible verse of the week – “Do good. Seek peace. Go for it!” These are wise words for a superhero, and it’s good to know these superheroes are on the job. After all, their little hands are safeguarding our future.

Save the date for VBS next year: June 18-21, 2018!

Families Moving Forward is Back

/in /by

We are excited to continue hosting for our second year of the Families Moving Forward Program! Families Moving Forward (FMF) is a church-led program for hosting homeless families in our area. It involves around 70 churches, with each church hosting 4 families for two weeks during the year.

In March we had life-changing experiences with our volunteers and families, and ALL of the families moved into their own stable housing within a month after our hosting week! We are pleased to announce that Mount Calvary will be hosting our second group of families from August 6-13, 2017!

You can learn more about FMF on our church website, by picking up an information sheet at the Welcome Center, or by contacting Chris Anderson.

We are currently looking for individuals, families, and groups to help with various needs for this program. There are many ways you can become involved, including the following teams: Leadership/Planning Team, Activities Team, Food Team, Setup Team, and Supplies Team.

If you are interested in one or more of these teams, or just in finding out more about Families Moving Forward, please contact Chris Anderson at 952-474-8893.

We will be hosting an information session in July for anyone interested—you can sign up for this session with Chris.

SPIRITUAL FITNESS BASICS – SELAH PART 2

/in /by

I wanted to write on the idea of “Selah” today, but the topic felt familiar so I checked back in my files and found a previous “Selah” message dated April 2013. Well, to keep my message fresh, yet keep my intentions for today’s message intact, I added “Part 2” to spice things up!

Selah is a word found in some of the Psalms of the Old Testament. I first noticed it in one of my favorites, Psalm 46. There have been many debates and studies about what the word means, but the general consensus is that the word is not directly translatable and doesn’t have a clear definition. But one generally accepted idea is that the word indicates a pause in the verse, a time of instruction possibly saying, hear this. The interpretation of the word that I like best came from a musician friend of mine; to pause and consider….

So I write to you today to join me in a Fit Spirit Exercise of Selah. I’m going to take some time this summer to pause and consider some changes in my ministry work. After 10 years of providing spiritual care to cops, firefighters and medics throughout Minnesota, I’ve decided to bring my work closer to home. I’m going to narrow my scope of services and start focusing on agencies within Hennepin County. That also includes more direct care work in the Excelsior area.

Part of the ministry I’m going to spend some time considering is the idea of this spiritual fitness exercise. I currently use a pretty random approach to writing these exercises. I’ve given a lot of consideration to creating a more systematic approach to spiritual exercise, and with the help of one of my pastoral mentors, I think I’ve got a good plan. But I want to work out the kinks over the summer. So, I’m going to take the next couple months off from my random Fit Spirit writing, and be back in the fall. Enjoy your summer and don’t forget to Selah!

Take Care,­­
Pastor Dan Carlson

Mount Calvary Foundation

/in /by

In our May board meeting we received reports on a couple of interesting items. First, Linda Saveraid and I met with Rev. Simon Haamer from Tartu Academy in Estonia. He was here to thank us for our support in the past few years. They have grown from a handful of people to over 130 seminarians, which is wonderful news. The bad news is they lack professors to teach, counsel and mentor these students who are dedicated to bringing the gospel into the communities. Estonia does not have bricks and mortar churches; the Nazis and the Soviets saw to that. Today, the graduates bring religion to their career jobs. Many of these are in health care and education. Being a Christian in Estonia is very difficult with much discrimination.

We also began to review a new financial model from RBC Wealth Management where our assets are managed. We will hear more in our June meeting and then have the option of using this new model or remaining with the same strategy.

We voted to order a bench, small altar, and planters to be placed in front of the columbarium. They will be made of the same Kasota stone that is used throughout the church. Our goal is to create a more reverent site and give a little more privacy to the space.

This brings up the subject of retirement and end-of-life planning. According to the Wall Street Journal, fewer than one in three couples believe either spouse could take the reins of financial management in their absence. Only about half have current wills. Ninety-four percent of surveyed adults said they think it’s important to talk about their own and their loved ones’ wishes for end-of-life care, BUT only thirty percent have done so! The reasons for procrastination fall into four categories:

  • • It’s not something they need to worry about at this point in life
  • They aren’t sick yet
  • The subject makes them feel uncomfortable
  • They don’t want to upset their loved ones

There are as many as 53 decisions that need to be made at time of death. Many can be made well ahead of time rather than in the middle of the grieving process. While the actual planning may be uncomfortable, the peace of mind that can be enjoyed upon completion is well worth the effort.

If you are interested in learning more about this kind of planning, a lot of help is available. Please see Pastor Brenda or any other Foundation Trustee. Also, if you think you might be interested in becoming a board member, come to a meeting. We meet from 7:30 to 8:30am on the second Tuesday of each month. Or talk to any trustee – you will find a list of Foundation Trustees on the Mount Calvary website. Thanks again for all your support.

Ross McGlasson,
Board Chair

AN ODE TO UNSUNG HEROS

/in /by

If you sing the praises of an unsung hero, is that hero still unsung? Semantics aside, this month I would like to share an ode to Mount Calvary’s amazing staff.

Our church has approximately 4,000 energetic and involved members. Behind the scenes a paid staff, hovering around 25 ordained and lay individuals, work tirelessly to meet the daily needs and expectations of our diverse congregation and world community. That’s like running a 4000-passenger cruise ship with a crew of 25.

To pull this off requires an extraordinary level of skill, experience, dedication, and commitment to our Christian mission; attributes that apply to our entire Mount Calvary team. Where else can you find a group of nationally recognized experts with a long aggregate tenure providing leading edge programs that get results?

The fruits of their labors surround us every time we walk through Mount Calvary’s doors. We are greeted by a warm, inviting worship space reconfigured daily to service the ever-changing needs of our members and the surrounding community. Parishioners crowd the pews to participate in music-filled worship services worth experiencing. The halls ring with the sound of youth seeking Mount Calvary as a peer destination. People of all ages congregate to learn, socialize, and feel God. Our neighbors down the block and on the other side of the world feel the love. We seek Mount Calvary as a place of worship as well as a home for preschool students, aspiring musicians, and the hungry across the world. We freely give of our time, talent, and treasure because we have confidence those resources will be effectively managed and expended.

I take keen satisfaction in watching masters at work; everything seems so effortless and often invisible. For the performer, this is usually a mark of pride. The risk is that the required time, effort, and skill go unrecognized.

So, I would encourage you to reach out to Mount Calvary’s backstage crew and let them know you appreciate what they do for us. Help them understand how their efforts impact you and your family. Sing their praises. But don’t go overboard. These are, after all, Minnesota Lutherans. We don’t want to embarrass them.

If you prefer, send your thoughts to CouncilPresident@mountcalvary.org. I will be sure to pass them on.

Doug Affinito,
Council President

A Time To…….

/in /by

As we launch into summer we also come to the conclusion of our worship theme from Ecclesiastes 3, “For everything there is a season.” Last fall, we focused on “A Time to Build Up.” In Advent and Christmas, “A Time to Be Born.” In Epiphany and Lent, “A Time to Seek” and “A Time to Heal.” In Easter, “A Time to Embrace.” We used the visual of a sundial with a moving shadow to reflect the seasons’ change.

For summer, we are inviting and encouraging you to ‘fill in the blank.’ The ellipsis (series of dots) following “A Time to” recognizes that summer in Minnesota is a time for many activities, excursions, adventures and sabbath moments that are or seem less available to us in other times of the year. The obvious ones are boating, fishing, camping, picnics, barbecues, hammocks and lawn chairs, reading under a tree or playing a game of catch, state and county fairs, vacations and ………..(you fill in the blank).

As many of the September to June routines change into your summer rhythms, we invite you to be very purposeful as you fill in your ellipses. Be intentional in making this summer a time of rest and renewal, a time to build up, seek, heal and embrace so that the Spirit of refreshment and resurrection can birth a renewed and right spirit in you. Be intentional in your balancing of worship, work and play in the way summer often seems to allow. Keep an eye on the summer Church calendar for the camp or the barbecue, the meal or the worship, the music or the activity that fits your balancing and meets your needs. Be open to the ways Jesus is seeking to guide you in making the most of your time and in filling the blanks of your ellipses. You just might be surprised where you end up and you just might be delighted or inspired by what you find there. Peace.

Pastor Dave