2010 Fall Session Enrollment

The Piano Laboratory at First Lutheran Church is now accepting applications for enrollment in the 2010 fall session for students currently in grades three and four.

Click here to learn more about and/or sign up for the Piano Laboratory classes at First Lutheran Church.

Celebrate five years of Parish Nurse Ministry!
Sunday, Sept. 12
Between services in the Gathering Room

Drawings for prizes such as:
• Massage compliments of Vivaz Medical Spa
• One week Sanford Wellness Center passes
• Visits to the foot care clinic at First Lutheran
• Tshirts from the Community Blood Bank

Learn more about parish nurse ministry here. 

You are invited to the 2010 Fall Organ Series

All performances take place in the First Lutheran Church sanctuary from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. A freewill offering will be received.

Wednesday, Sept. 22
Jack Mohlenhoff, Minister of Music and Arts at First Congregational Church

Wednesday, Sept. 29
Marilyn Schempp, Associate Director of Music and Fine Arts at Our Savior's Lutheran Church; Augustana College Faculty

Wednesday, Oct. 6
James Moore, Member of First Lutheran Church

The September issue of the First Word is available online. Stories from this issue include:
 
Open the door to adult learning and fellowship opportunities
Youth should consider natural gifts and talents when discerning career goals
People of Nicaragua full of faith and rich in spirit
Blessed to be a blessing! Recent campaign gives opportunity for mission outreach

View the issue here.

Back issues of the First Word are available under the publications tab.

A special congregational meeting is scheduled for

Sunday, Sept. 12, at 12:30 p.m.
in Reformation Hall.

The congregational meeting will decide what we as a congregation wish to do with the gifts so generously pledged through the “God’s Gifts. Our Responsibility.” campaign.

The Council unanimously approved this proposal that will be presented at the congregational meeting.

Please click here to view the proposal. 

Wednesday Night Meals returns to Reformation Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 25, from 5-6:15 p.m. Turkey and cheesy hash browns is on the menu for the week. The cost is $3.50. All meals are catered and served with a variety of homemade desserts to choose from.

Click here for a the full menu from Aug. 25 through Dec. 8.

 If you would like more information about Wednesday Night Meals, please call the Youth and Family Office at (605) 339-1983, ext. 34.

Choir season starts soon! Check out the many ways to get involved musically at First Lutheran Church. If you want to learn more about Worship and Music Ministries, call Shirley Barlow, at (605) 339-1983, ext. 35, or click here. 

• Good Vibrations: (grades 5-8, handbells) Rehearsals take place on Wednesdays from 4:30-5:15 p.m. starting Aug. 25

• Belle Campane: (grades 9-12, handbells) Rehearsals take place on Wednesdays from 5:30-6:25 p.m. starting Aug. 25.

• Agape Ringers: (adult, handbells) Rehearsals take place Tuesdays from 6:30-7:45 p.m. starting Aug. 24.

• Carol Choir: (grades 1-4, vocal choir) Rehearsals take place Saturdays from 10:15 a.m.-12 p.m. starting Sept. 11.

• Jubilant Singers: (grades 5-8, vocal choir) Rehearsals take place every Wednesday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. starting Aug. 25.

• FLYGHT: (grades 9-12, vocal choir) Rehearsals take place every Wednesday from 6:30-7:30 p.m. starting Aug. 25.

• Women's Choir: Rehearsals take place on Wednesdays from 6:30-7:30 p.m. starting Aug. 18.

• Adult Choir: Rehearsals take place on Wednesdays from 7:35-9:05 p.m. starting Aug. 18.

• Chapel Choir: Meets twice a year for four weeks at a time. Rehearsals will be three Sundays from 7-8 p.m. The fourth Sunday the choir will sing at one of the worship services. A light meal will precede each rehearsal at 6 p.m. Watch for an opportunity in January.

• Ninepatch: (contemporary band) Rehearsals take place on Wednesdays from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

• Praise Band: (contemporary band) Rehearsals take place on Tuesdays from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

2010 confirmation save the date:

Orientation Times
Sixth-grade Individual Family Orientations
Wednesday, Aug. 25, and Wednesday, Sept 1 (times will be assigned)

Sixth Grade Large Group
Wednesday,Sept 8. from 6:30-7:40 p.m. in the Gathering Room

Seventh Grade
Wednesday, Sept. 15, from 6:30-7:40 p.m. in Fellowship Hall

Eighth Grade
Wednesday, Sept. 22 from 6:30-7:40 p.m. in the Den

Ninth Grade Orientation
Sunday, Oct. 3, from 6:30-8:05 p.m. Friendship Room

Shepherd Trainings
Sixth through Eighth Grade Shepherd Training
Wednesday, Sept 29, from 6:30-7:40 p.m.
6th Grade in the Gathering Room;
7th Grade in Fellowship Hall;
and 8th Grade in the Den

10th Grade Banquet and Mini Retreat
Sunday, Oct. 10, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Affirmation of Baptism Service
Sunday, Nov. 7, at 2 p.m.

Pastor Natanael Lizarazo, Good Samaritan Society Project Outreach Consultant, shares a message titled "Crossing Boundaries for God's Ongoing Mission" at the Good Samaritan Society's National Campus on June 2, 2010.

Project Outreach began in the mid-1970s and gives residents, staff members and friends of the Good Samaritan Society the opportunity to reach out in ways that make an impact in places such as Colombia, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

For more information about Good Samaritan Society, please visit their website. 

If you would like to get involved with global outreach at First Lutheran Church, information is available by following this link. 

A new Stephen Ministry class is going to be starting at First Lutheran Church in the coming months. Take a moment to learn more about this ministry that trains lay people to provide one-to-one Christian care to hurting people.

A video explaining Stephen Ministry is available on the Public Broadcasting System's website here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/april-9-2010/stephen-ministry/6044/.

Perhaps you are being called by God to provide care for hurting people? Contact Pastor Barbara Wangsness at (605) 339-1983, ext. 19, or Donna Van Houten at (605) 595-5195 to learn more.

Washington, DC, June 16, 2010 –Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, has been named a 2010 World Food Prize laureate, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced today. He shares the award, the Nobel Prize equivalent for food and agriculture, with Jo Luck, president of Heifer International.

The laureates were recognized for their “landmark achievements in building two of the world’s foremost grassroots organizations leading the charge to end hunger and poverty for millions of people around the world.” In honoring them, the World Food Prize “recognizes the critical efforts of NGOs in mobilizing and empowering everyday citizens to end hunger in communities around the world.”

“The World Food Prize recognizes all that Bread for the World members and churches across the country have done to get our government to help end hunger in our country and around the world,” said Rev. Beckmann. “U.S. funding for poverty-focused development assistance has tripled over the last decade; nutrition programs for hungry people in this country have more than doubled. This would not have happened without the advocacy of members and local congregations of Bread for the World.”

Rev. Beckmann has been president of Bread for the World since 1991. He is an ordained Lutheran minister and economist. He also serves as president of Bread for the World Institute and is the founder and current president of the Alliance to End Hunger. His latest book, Exodus from Hunger, will be published in October by Westminster John Knox Press (http://www.exodusfromhunger.com/). 

The World Food Prize cited the effectiveness of Bread for the World’s advocacy, which has achieved policies and programs that have brought hundreds of millions of people out of hunger and poverty. Under Beckmann’s leadership, Bread has grown to more than 72,000 members—which includes individuals, 5,000 local congregations, and 50 denominational partners. Bread has members in each of the 435 congressional districts in the country. Through its members, more than 1 million Christians are engaged today in Bread’s advocacy to end hunger.

“I hope the World Food Prize will encourage more people to get involved in changing the politics of hunger. Right now, we have exceptional opportunities to win changes in Congress that will provide help and opportunity to hungry people,” said Rev. Beckmann. “The progress that the world has made against hunger and poverty is God moving in our time, and God is calling us now to get our country to do more to provide help and opportunity to hungry people.”

The late Norman Borlaug, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, established the World Food Prize in 1986 to honor outstanding individuals who make vital contributions to food and agriculture. There are 33 laureates so far, most of them scientists. Rev. Beckmann is the first clergyman to receive the award. The World Food Prize ceremony will take place October 14, 2010, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Bread for the World (http://www.bread.org/) is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.

Each year the youth and family office produces a video testimony of FLC high school seniors. Seniors share their faith and reminisce about things they have experienced as they've grown up at First Lutheran.

The video is available here: www.flcsf.org/node/71127

 Best wishes to each of the 2010 graduating seniors!

Click here for resources from the South Dakota Synod: www.sdsynod.org/content/view/58/158/

Is there someone on your mind and heart who could benefit from a homemade meal? Meals from the Heart invites all ages to make a difference in someone’s life! Pick up the freezer key at the Information Desk; go to the Luther Lounge; select a meal; sign the log; deliver the meal to someone who would appreciate a homemade meal. Want to take the mission a step further? Purchase a Hy-Vee or Sunshine card from the Youth and donate the card to Meals from the Heart. (Card sales benefit Youth and Meals from the Heart!) Give a gift from the heart to someone special! Cards are available for you to give as a gift. For more information, contact Linda Carpenter at (605) 339-1983, ext. 36, or Jean Hoff at (605) 361-7267.