Fra prestens skrivebord
by pastor Jens Arne Dale

"I don’t read devotion books". I remember some years ago a friend of mine saying this. The reason why, was that he wanted to read only the Bible, he told me. I think it might be a good idea to do both things. At Mindekirken, we hand out "Christ In Our Home" which is a small booklet with a Bible verse and a devotion for every day of the year. March 5^th is Ash Wednesday. We’ll have a short service at 7:00 PM that night. The Congregation Council has decided to give a special devotion book to all who come to church between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Make Lent the time of the year when you read a devotion book.

Lent is a time of preparation when we follow Christ on his way towards suffering and death. Traditionally, Lent has consisted of these elements: fasting, prayer, and alms. Prayer gives us the opportunity to meditate on Christ’s way to the cross for our sake. Fasting is practiced by a few even today, and it is recommended for both spiritual and physical health. But we’re more likely to give charitable gifts. On March 9^th, the Rev. Don Rudrud from the Community Emergency Services (CES) will join us. He will give a talk at the church coffee hour, and we’ll collect money and food for CES. He will probably tell us about families in the neighborhood of the church who have just $70 to live off of each money after the rent is paid. There are even people who have a job, but cannot afford a place to live.

There are several thousand Ethiopian people in our neighborhood. In the beginning of Febryary, one of the, Pastor Sileshi Tisfay, came to our church. He is the leader of a non-denominational congregation of almost 50 Ethiopians who are looking for a church building in which to worship.

The Congregation Council is now considering the possibility of renting out the sanctuary on Sunday evenings. When I write this, we don’t know what might come out of this. But I would like to encourage the congregation to pray for guidance when it comes to this question. God has been good to us, it’s our obligation to be generous to others. Many of the Ethiopians are Christians due to the ministry of Norwegian missionaries. It might be that we could do something to reach out a hand to brothers and sisters from Ethiopia.

Pr. Jens Arne Dale

Paal Joachim Romdahl (31) is mvoing to California. He has been the photographer for the Communicator and has contributed much to the make-over of the newsletter. Thanks, and good luck!

Each Tuesday at 11:00 AM, waffles and coffee are served for a donation of $3 in the Fellowship Hall. At noon there is a program.

March 4^th: Norwegian Easter traditions – Pr. Dale

March 11^th: "Folk art at Vesterheim" Dick Enstad, Shirley Evenstad, Hans Sandom

March 18^th "Alfred Anderson Iron Cookware" Dick Enstad presents old cookware for goro, krumkake, vafler, etc.

March 24^th "Norwegian Cookbooks" presented by Deborah Miller, from the Minnesota Historical Society

Tekst til bildet: The Tuesday Open House is attended by 30-50 people every week. Welcome to join in!

New members: Picture with names….

I broke my leg and almost died during the operation due to the allergic reaction to the narcotics says Ole Martin Wasstrand. The next day, the hospital chaplain showed up. That was Kjell Magne Bondevik. At that time (1977), he had leave from the parliament to do his internship as a pastor. Now he is the prime minister of Norway. May I read something for you, he asked? Ole Martin had lost his faith 10 years earlier, but didn’t mind hearing a word from the Bible. Then Kjell Magne read Psalm 121 The end of this psalm really touched me Ole Martin says. Ithe Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forever more"