Need a chuckle?

A Sunday school teacher was explaining how God created Eve out of Adam’s rib. Suddenly, a student who enjoyed showing off started groaning and grabbing his side.

When the teacher asked what the boy’s problem was, he said with a smile, “I have a pain in my side. I think I’m going to have a wife.”

Round Table Discussion, Thursday, 7pm

Here are some questions to consider as we prepare to meet for the Round Table Discussion this Thursday, April 10th:

In this congregation, what are...
*the strengths?
*the weaknesses?
*the challenges?

If you were to be away from this congregation for the next five years, when you returned...
*what would you hope to see?
*what would you expect to see?

More about our synod...

From the website of the Northwest Minnesota Synod

Connects congregations in mission...

> Partners in Ministry
~ Congregations can do more together than they could ever do alone. Fifteen cents out of every dollar congregations send to the synod is passed on to Partners in Ministry such as Luther Seminary, Oak Grove High School, the Minnesota Council of Churches and many more. To view the list of our Partners in Ministry click on www.nwmnsynod.org/info/partners.html.

> ELCA Churchwide
~ ELCA churchwide is doing God's work across our country and around the world. Spreading the gospel in this country and abroad is the largest activity we share in the ELCA. Fifty-one cents out of every dollar received from congregations supports the ministry of the ELCA.

> Social Justice
~ Synod committees assist congregations in making our "faith active in love". Staff and committees work in such areas as hunger, public legislation, and a variety of justice issues so that congregations might actively live the faith we proclaim.

There's more!

On the first Easter morning, three women found an empty tomb. The discovery left them trembling and afraid. They didn’t know there was more — a resurrected Lord.

Later that day, the risen Jesus appeared. As happy as the disciples were about this miracle, they didn’t yet know there was more — a gift of the Holy Spirit that would make their joy complete.

Early Christians in Corinth were so delighted by the gift of baptism that they could scarcely imagine there was more — the resurrection of the body to eternal life.

As great as Easter is, it’s only the “first fruits” of what lies ahead. Celebrate the fact that Christ is risen, but remember that the best is yet to come!

The Legend of the Dogwood

There’s a legend that the dogwood was once the size of the oak and other forest trees. It was so strong and firm that it was chosen as the timber for Christ’s cross. This greatly distressed the tree. Jesus, nailed upon it, sensed the tree’s regret and told it:

“Because of your sorrow for my suffering, never again shall the dogwood grow large enough to be used as a cross. It shall be slender, bent and twisted. Its blossoms shall form a cross – two long and two short petals. And at the outer edge of each petal will be nail prints, brown with rust and stained with red. In the center of the flower shall be a crown of thorns. And all who see it will remember ….”

Service of Tenebrae

Tonight, Good Friday, we will have a Service of Tenebrae at 7:00 pm. The word "tenebrae" is Latin for "shadows". The service features the extinguishing of seven candles, each representing the seven last words of Christ.

Good Friday Devotion from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"AN UNCUSTOMARY GIVING" March 21, 2008 John 19:30. "When He had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.'With that, He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit."

Good Friday

People customarily fight all they can against death. Christians can, however, be different. A hardened Communist, in the Nazi concentration camps, was converted when he saw the selfless act of a lady named Maria. He watched, as the Nazis, filling their quotas for executions, sentenced a young mother to the gas chamber. When the Christian, Maria, saw what had happened, she pushed the mother aside and took her place.

With her selfless act, Maria showed that Christians are not afraid of death. Nevertheless, Maria, could give her life for only one person. As gracious as Maria's deed was, her sacrifice bought that mother, at best, a few years of life. In contrast, we have an uncustomary Savior who voluntarily sacrificed Himself for all people. Moreover, Jesus' death and resurrection give us life with Him for all eternity. The words of Scripture, "He ... gave up His Spirit," show us God's great love in action. Because of what Jesus has done, death is no longer a thing to be feared. Because of Jesus, there is life and life eternal.

Prayerful Practice: Dear Lord Jesus, help me to live each day as my last, never fearing the enemy: death. Amen.

A Contemporary Custom: The approach of death can be frightening. Take a flower to someone in a nursing home.

Hot Cross Buns

Here's a recipe for Good Friday. As I often do, I scout out a recipe on the web and then pretty much end up making something up! On one cooking blog, the author notes that when she was a kid in Great Britain, it was common for the Boy Scouts to take orders and then deliver fresh hot cross buns on Good Friday.

Anyway, here's how I made mine:

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups very warm water
1 TBSP yeast
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup soft butter
6 cups bread flour
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups dried fruit

I put the brown sugar into my KitchenAid bowl, poured the water over it, dissolved the sugar, then sprinkled the yeast on top and let it do it's thing for about 10 minutes.

I added the butter and egg, then the flour, then the spices. I mixed this all up with the dough hook in the KitchenAid. While hot cross buns traditionally have currents and candied fruit, I had neither of these, so I used a combination of dried apricots, cherries, cranberries and raisins. I added these to the dough and let the KitchenAid knead it for me for about 5 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise 1-1/2 hours. Form into buns, let rise 1/2 hour, cut a cross on the top of each bun, brush with an egg wash and bake about 20 minutes at 375. Run a bit of white icing onto the cross when the buns have cooled. Makes 2 dozen.

Lenten Devotion from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"AN UNCUSTOMARY GIFT" March 20, 2008 Matthew 26:26-28. "Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is My body'... Then He took the cup... 'Drink from it...' 'This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'"

Maundy Thursday Much of the world customarily turns its back on the many gifts that God has given them. Very few realize the personal sacrifice it took to grant us those gifts of salvation and hope. Years ago, after opening our Christmas gifts, our 3-year-old daughter waded into the discarded wrappings, picked up a big red bow, held it over her head and said, "Look at me, Daddy! I'm a present!" Today, as we remember Jesus' new covenant of grace, we thank Him for being God's present to us. It is one thing to go to the local shopping mall and buy a gift for an appreciative family member, but Jesus gives us Himself. He gives a gift more personal and costly than any gift from a catalogue. In order to offer us the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, He had to suffer and die in a manner most cruel. Nevertheless, He did so willingly, so that we might hear the words, "Take eat, take drink for the forgiveness of sins." May we, with repentant hearts, be gladdened and grateful. Prayerful Practice: Dear Lord Jesus, the Gift of Yourself is what I've always needed. Grant me the Spirit to say, "It's just what I wanted." Amen. A Contemporary Custom: Give a gift of yourself. In the name of Jesus, pass down a special piece of memorabilia to those who are coming after you.

Palm Sunday

Lenten Devotion from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"AN UNCUSTOMARY CRY " March 13, 2008 Matthew 27:46. "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' -which means, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'"

In hard times it is customary for people to think that God has forsaken them. That was the situation for teen-age Allison who was having a tough day. She lay down on the couch and began a litany of complaints to anyone who would listen. Her most attentive hearer was her little brother. She began, "Nobody loves me. The whole world hates me!" After a while, and fed up with the griping, he looked up and shared a word of encouragement: "Aw, that's just not true. Not everybody hates you. Some people don't even know you."

As Jesus hung upon the cross, He found Himself in a most uncustomary situation. He had been deserted by God and suffered hell for us. The most unfortunate person, on the worst day of his life, could never say that God had left him. Although they are often unnoticed, and seldom are appreciated, God's gifts continue to rain on all humanity. But this gift, the gift of salvation, comes only to those who hear the plaintive cry of a Savior who was forsaken, so His disciples might have a heavenly Father for eternity.

Prayerful Practice: Dear Lord Jesus, help me remember all You endured for me. Amen.

A Contemporary Custom: Memorize Hebrew 13:5. "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Write a note of love to Christ and tuck it in your Bible. He will never forsake you.

Brew-Ha-Ha

There are only TWO Sundays left of Brew-Ha-Ha, the Sunday Afternoon Coffee Shop at Zion Lutheran Church in Warroad. This Sunday, the 16th, and the Sunday after Easter, March 27th.

Enjoy a hoity-toity gourmet coffee drink, a refreshing Italian Soda, or just a plain old cup of brew along with a delicious dessert. Bring along some knitting, visit, or help get some pieces put into the jigsaw puzzle.

Brew-Ha-Ha serves fairly traded coffee from Lutheran World Relief and gives 100% of all profits to out reach ministries. This year, profits go to Youth Encounter and to The Refuge radio and Psalm 95 radio.

Early Bird & LOWBC Special!

Early Bird Discounts are awarded to those people who have sent Pathways their summer camp registration with a postmark ON or BEFORE MARCH 17, 2008!

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS:
$20 in non-food canteen money
$10 in non-food canteen money

Please note: There are no early bird discounts on Half Pints, Family Weekends, or Adventure Outfitter Camps. Deposits must be sent with your registrations. Deposits are non-refundable.

DEPOSITS:
$100 for Weeklong or Half-week PER PERSON
$75 for Family Resort Weekends PER FAMILY
$25 for each Half Pint or all other Adult & Family Registration LOWBC Bring a Friend Special!

A fantastic deal! Sign up one child for a program at Lake of the Woods Bible Camp at full registration fees and get a second child (who has never been to camp)for only a $150 registration fee. This special is for all Elementary Mini, Elementary Classic, Middle School Classic, and Jr. High Classic programs at Lake of the Woods Bible Camp. You must send both registrations together in the same envelope (no online registrations) with a note indicating which camper gets the Lake of the Woods Bible Camp Special. Early Bird discount does not apply to the second camper ($150 registration fee.) Registrations that are not sent in together will not be honored for this discount.

Register online here, or pick up a form at the church.

From the mailbag:

Feeling like getting a little exercise? Our neighbors at Roseau United Methodist Church have invited us to join them in a program called Faithfully Fit Forever.

Beginning Wednesday, March 12th, Faithfully Fit Forever is a ten week program of hour long sessions which begin with a brief devotional and include aerobic exercise, strength training and stretching. Sessions are from 6-7pm. If you have questions. call Betty Hulst at 463-1250 or Nicole Alexiuk at 463-2594.

Daylight Savings Time-This Sunday!

The Color Purple

We are still in the church season of Lent. Many churches have purple paraments on the altar, lectern and pulpit. Many pastors and choir members wear purple stoles. Why purple? In ancient times, purple garments were expensive and hard to find. The dye came from rare sea mollusks that had to be crushed to garner their purple fluid. (One ounce of purple dye required 250,000 mollusks!) Then the right kind of fabric had to be placed in the dye, dried and made into clothing, which was time-consuming. Generally, only wealthy people and members of royalty could afford purple garments. For example, in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man “was dressed in purple and fine linen” (Luke 16:19, NRSV). Purple is used in church sanctuaries during Advent and Lent because Christ is revered as the King of Kings.

About our Synod

From the website of the Northwest Minnesota Synod

What is the Northwestern Minnesota Synod?

The Northwestern Minnesota Synod is a geographical designation and a Church arrangement for carrying out the Church's mission. We are part of Region 3 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The word "synod" comes from two Greek words: syn meaning together, and hodos, meaning the way. A synod is a group of people on the way together, and that is exactly what we are. Our synod is comprised of 274 congregations, 343 pastors, 20 Associates in Ministry, and 112,767 baptized members. The synod is grouped into ten conferences: Laroki, Agassiz, Pine to Valley, Headwaters, Prairie Land, Moorhead, White Earth, Otter Tail, Lakes and Prairie, and Runestone. The territory covers the upper western half of the state of Minnesota.

What we at the synod office do to help congregations:

Helps congregations with their ministry...

> Call Process ~ Provide help with pastoral changes. Synod staff are extensively involved with the congregation until a new pastor is called.

> Consultation ~ As congregation's plan their ministry, synod staff meets to help leaders map their future. Common areas of assistance include: visioning for congregational leaders, guidance with staffing questions, help with stewardship drives, or assistance with building project plans. In addition, several area strategy processes have been conducted around the synod.

> Celebrate ~ We will celebrate with congregations on anniversaries, dedications, and installations.

> Conflict ~ From time to time every congregation experiences conflict. When conflict becomes disruptive to the congregation's ministry, the staff can help clarify issues and assist the move toward resolution. We are here to support and help with congregational closings and in times of conflict.

> Share the Good News! ~ As part of the Body of Christ, we are all called to tell the Good News. The synod office works with you as a congregation to do just that!

Soup and Sandwich time!

We've been enjoying the cozy meals of soup and sandwiches each Wednesday evening before the Lenten services.