Aurora Trinity Lutheran Parish

Feeding Body, Mind, and Spirit with the Love of Jesus

Monthly Newsletter
November, 2012
www.auroratrinitylutheran.org

New Parish Office Administrator

After several months of soliciting for this position, the councils are excited to announce that it has been filled by Lisa Korbel from Aurora. We appreciate that Kayla agreed to stay on until a replacement was found and also for her time training Lisa in. Thank you, Kayla for your dedication and work done for Aurora & Trinity.

Joint Council Meeting

The next joint council meeting will be on Wednesday, November 14th at 6:30 p.m. at Aurora.

Aurora Church Council

The next church council meeting will be on Wednesday, November 14th following the joint council meeting.

Newsletter Information Deadline

Please have all information for the December newsletter and calendar to Lisa by Thursday, November 15th. Please e-mail your information to auroratrinityoffice@gmail.com or you can call 507456-0740.

November Special Services

All Saints Sunday
We will be remembering family members and friends who have died over the years with the lighting of candles on All Saints Sunday, November 4th.

Leviticus Bible Study

Have you actually read Leviticus? This is the question asked on a bumper sticker I saw recently. Even a short glance into this Old Testament book will result in reading strange laws such as, You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed or You shall not put on a garment made of two different materials. What are we supposed to do with these laws? Do they still apply to us today? If you would like to go deeper into this often-unread book of the Bible, join us on Thursdays in November for a Bible study on Leviticus. The study will be offered at 10:30am (at Olivias Restaurant in Owatonna) and 6:30pm at Aurora. Please read the listed chapters before each session. Thursday, November 1st Leviticus 1-9 Thursday, November 8th Leviticus 10-18 Thursday, November 15th Leviticus 19-27

Aurora Thankoffering Service

The Aurora WELCA Thankoffering joint worship service will be held on Sunday, November 11th at 9:00 a.m. The women of our church will be leading this service.

Thanksgiving Service
Thanksgiving service will be held at Trinity with a joint service on Wednesday, November 21st at 6:30 p.m.

******Daylight Savings Time Ends******

Daylight Savings Time ends on November 4 . Remember to switch your clocks back 1 hour, so you will be on time for church and Sunday School on Sunday, November 4th.
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Feeding Body, Mind, and Spirit with the Love of Jesus

Food Shelf Sunday at Aurora
The next food shelf Sunday at Aurora will be on Sunday, November 4th. Please give to this worthy cause and help people in need.

2012 Oyster-Chili Supper

The 2012 Oyster-Chili Supper will be held Sunday, November 18th. Your donation/work slip is included in the newsletter. If you have any questions, you can contact Bob Thurnau or Angie Jensen.

Aurora Kitchen Cleaning

On Tuesday, November 20th at 6:30 p.m. WELCA will be cleaning the kitchen. Please come help us get it back in shape after the Oyster-Chili Supper!

November Service Project

All are invited to serve our community on Saturday, November 17th from 1 3 p.m. at the Salvation Army in Owatonna. If you would like to participate or have any questions please contact Jessie Kubista at 507-456-7717.

Upcoming Youth Events

Luther League Bake Sale/Silent Auction:
Sunday, November 18th The Aurora/Trinity Luther League will be having a bake and silent auction basket sale at the Oyster/Chili Supper to raise money for new playground equipment. Those interested in donating baskets or items can contact Karen Kubista 507-456-6189.

Trinity Mitten Tree

The Trinity Mitten Tree will be up November 4th thru December 9th. Please decorate the tree with new or gently used mittens, gloves, hats, scarves or blankets. These items will be donated to the Blooming Prairie Christmas Wish Tree project and the Blooming Prairie Elementary School. Lets share the warmth this Christmas Season!

Confirmation Schedule
November 11th, 11am 9th Grade Confirmation November 12th, 6:30pm 7th/8th Grade November 26th, 6:30pm 7th/8Th Grade

Service Project:
Saturday, November 17th, 1-3 p.m. Owatonna Salvation Army

Aurora Christmas Decorating

Christmas Decorating has been scheduled for Saturday, December 1st at 4:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend!

Aurora Nursery
Do you have a little one and find yourself paying more attention to them instead of the church service? When you get home do you ever think, What did the minister say today? Bonnie Johnson is willing to staff a nursery for babies through 4 years old every second Sunday of the month. This way you can enjoy the service and your little one is happy too. Bonnie will be available in the preschool/kindergarten room in the basement of the church.

Trinity Christmas Decorating

Christmas Decorating has been scheduled for Sunday, November 25th . Please come before the 10:30 a.m. worship service to help out. Bring a treat to share for a coffee break.

Please note the following enclosures: Pastor Jon Contact Information

If you need to reach Pastor Jon during the week, please call him at 507-676-5696 or you can send him an e-mail at: auroratrinitypastor@gmail.com. Pastor Jons day off is Friday.
Pastor Jons Letter Aurora October Church Council Meeting Minutes Trinity October Church Council Meeting Minutes Joint Council Meeting Minutes Confirmation Update SE MN Synod Newsletter Oyster Stew/Chili Supper Donation/Work-Slip

FEEDINGwith the Love of Jesus

Feeding Body, Mind, and Spirit with the Love of Jesus.
This past spring, members of Aurora and Trinity came up with a mission statement for our parish - Feeding Body, Mind, and Spirit with the Love of Jesus. This mission statement gives us direction and vision for what God is calling us to do in this particular place and at this particular time. With it, we have a sense of purpose within the life and activity of God.

Over the past several months, we have spent time learning, embodying, and living out this mission. We begin worship by saying this mission statement together. We take Holy Communion twice a month as a way of being fed more often with Gods grace and promises. We have supported Raven Caldwell and her family in their work to care for those suffering flood damage near Duluth, MN. We have intentionally strengthened the relationship between Aurora and Trinity. Also, almost 40 people from our parish helped pack meals for hungry, malnourished children around the world! We really have been feeding people and it has been great. But it is just the beginning As a way of going deeper with our mission, I proposed to the councils that we choose three themes centered on our mission for the next three years. Together, the councils came up with: 1) Feeding Body with the Love of Jesus (2013) 2) Feeding Mind with the Love of Jesus (2014) 3) Feeding Spirit with the Love of Jesus (2015) Why divide into a theme for each year? Because it is hard to tackle all three aspects of our mission at the same time. As a result, it can be easy to lose track of our mission altogether. By focusing on one theme for a year, we are able to go more in-depth with the possibilities each one holds. Also, it helps to focus us in the work that we do together. So what would it look like to feed bodies with the love of Jesus in 2013? What comes to mind? Issues of hunger and starvation in our country and around the world? How we can use our bodies for healing, instead of hurting? Concern about healthy body images for the children of God? In November, both councils will be discussing possible goals for our 2013 theme. If you have ideas or thoughts, please share them! With love for you all, Pastor Jon

Confirmation Update
As some of you already know, there has been a significant change to Confirmation this year. Aurora and Trinity Confirmation no longer meets during the Religious Education time allotted by the Owatonna school district. This change was made because it was very difficult to offer a coherent and integrated Confirmation program that was split between Tuesday and Sunday mornings. Not everyone who attended on Tuesday would be present on Sunday morning. As a result, there was an inconsistency that was hard to overcome. This year, I wanted to create a Confirmation program that allowed for longer groups sessions, a deeper connection to other adults in our parish, and a stronger sense of service to the community. Currently, 7th and 8th graders meet approximately twice a month on Monday evenings for an hour and a half with two adult volunteers and me. The 9th graders meet once a month with me. Alongside this, each student is expected to attend worship on Sunday mornings, participate in a monthly intergenerational service project that our parish offers, as well as meet with their mentor once a month. A Sunday school curriculum is offered to Confirmation students but not required. The primary education happens on Monday evenings. However, learning about Christianity and the Lutheran faith does not come simply from sitting in a classroom. It also comes from our relationships with others within the church and through participating in the activities of the church. Note that these are the expectations of Confirmation, not requirements. There has been some concern about the Confirmation students not being required to attend Sunday worship and Sunday School. The reason I speak in terms of expectations instead of requirements is twofold. First, no one can force any one to go to church. Even when Sunday worship was required in the past, some students still did not attend. Requiring it does not make them come. Secondly, the Christian faith is not grounded in requirements; it is grounded in the grace and unconditional love of God. Confirmation students and the families get out of Confirmation what they put into it. I believe that our Confirmation program is a rich experience, but the students are free to participate as they so choose. To threaten the students who dont meet requirements by withholding Confirmation from them only teaches them that the Church is a place about demands one is expected to obey, instead of about the love and forgiveness of Christ that none of us deserve and, yet, is still given to us for free week after week. Know that almost all churches are struggling with Confirmation these days. Many feel the current and previous models of Confirmation no longer work for this generation of youth. A lot of people think Confirmation is in need of a major transformation, but we do not know what that looks like yet. Our synod is one of few that is deeply engaged in a conversation around the future of Confirmation right now. Currently, I view my approach to Confirmation as an experiment aimed at making the Christian faith relevant and meaningful not only to the students, but to their families as well. I know our current program is a change from what it has been in the past and change is hard. Hang in there with me and maybe we can figure this out together. I am open to your thoughts, questions, and concerns. If you have any, please feel free to speak with me directly. Pastor Jon

Aurora Lutheran Church Council Meeting October 17, 2012

The regular monthly meeting of the Aurora Church Council met on October 17, 2012, at 6:30 PM. Those present were Pastor Jon Davis, Jeanne Pichner, Cheryl Thompson, Mark Prestegard, Jodi Keck, Roger Carroll, Brett Paape, Michelle Williams, Ryan Schrom, Dwight Jensen. Pastor Jon led devotions. The Secretarys report was approved as read. The Treasures report read and subject to audit. General Fund: $2,190.26; Building Fund: $4,004.60; Memorial Fund: $10,939.55; Parsonage Fund: $1,462.75; Cemetery Fund: $7,843.44. It was brought up again that we need someone to be counting the money after church on Sunday. Roger and Ryan will come up with some ideas of how to implement a new procedure.

Head usher: we need a list of duties. Michelle will contact Brian Jensen. Copier: we have been given a copier from McGregor Chiropractic. Ryan will check to see if we can get a maintenance agreement on it. Profit from the diner: WELCA has decided to use some of the money to replace the windows in the north room and office of the church, also at the parsonage. Jodi and Angie Jensen submitted some proposals. Cheryl will report on the findings at our next council meeting. Scholarships: they will be available in Nov. Roger will check on the water softener, as its not working. Make sure you are checking to see that all the lights are out if you are the last one out. Lights have been left on. Lisa Korbel has asked for a hard drive to back up the new laptop. Jodi has one that she can give her. It was requested that Pastor Jon put something in the newsletter explaining our new confirmation system

Our next council meeting will be November 14 at 6:30 at Aurora. Respectfully Submitted, Cheryl Thompson, Secretary

Aurora Trinity Church Joint Council Meeting Wednesday, October 17, 2012 The joint council meeting of the Aurora and Trinity churchs was held on Wed, Oct. 17, 2012 at Aurora at 7PM. President Jeanne Pichner presided. Secretarys report was read and approved. Pastor Jon led devotions. Are we living our mission statement? It was decided that we would like to have yearly goals focusing on the 3 different parts of our mission statement. 2013 will be devoted to feeding the body, 2014 will be feeding the mind and 2015 will be feeding the spirit. We will be having a joint council meeting Nov. 14 at 6:30PM to plan out our first year, at Aurora.
We have purchased a lap top. The cost of $590.63 will be split between both churches. It was decided not to purchase the protection plan. We discussed if we should be having more joint council meetings. We decided to meet again in the spring, April 17, 2013 at 6:30 at Trinity, with Aurora to have their council meeting afterwards. Do we change our service times? This would give Pastor Jon more time to get between both churches. Both churches will address this at their annual meeting. We discussed changing the times to 9AM and 10:45, still doing the 4 month rotation. Pastor evaluations can be submitted until the end of October. You can turn in your response to either Rich or Jeanne, or do it on line, or Aurora does have a box to put it in. Jeanne will compile the results; share them with Pastor Jon, the councils and then the congregations. Jeanne is going to be revising our constitution. Kayla Paape, Angie Jensen, Theona Lewison from Aurora will be helping her. Jeanne asked if Trinity would like to participate. They would be doing a separate constitution for their church. Does anyone know if we have our article of incorporation? Or our agreement between our churches when we became a 2 point parish in 1965? First communion: Aurora has 3 children. Pastor Jon will be meeting with the families of the 5th graders. All Saints Sunday: November 4, 2012. We will be honoring those that have died. Nov. 18 we will have 2 guest pastors, as Elliot, Pastor Jon and Laurens son, will be baptized. Nov. 18 is the Oyster Chili Supper at Aurora, with the Luther League having a bake sale and silent auction it raise money for new playground equipment. Thanksgiving service will be held at Trinity with a joint service at 6:30 PM, Wed, Nov. 21. Budget meeting will be Mon. Dec 3, 2012 at Aurora at 6:30. Presidents, treasure and trustees need to attend. Christmas: Aurora will have Christmas Eve service at 4PM; Trinity will have Christmas Day service at 9AM. Lenten service: Feb 13, joint service at Aurora at 6PM with soup supper. Other times will be soup supper at 6PM with service at 7PM. Trinity will host a joint supper, date to be determined, otherwise they will have service at 5:30PM. Holy week: Maundy Thursday (March 28) 7PM at Trinity. Good Friday service (March 29) at Aurora at 7PM. Easter Service (March 31) 7AM sunrise service, 8AM breakfast, 9AM worship service at Aurora. Trinity 10:30AM service. Confirmation at Aurora will be May 5, 2013 at Aurora at 9AM service. Aurora has 3 children being confirmed, Trinity has none. Joint Picnic: July 14, 2013 at Blooming Prairie Gun Club at 10:30. There will be games and activities like last year. Trinity thanked Aurora for the money that we gave them for working at the diner and at the trappers convention and for helping them with their supper.

A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. Respectfully Submitted, Cheryl Thompson, Aurora Secretary