FEB. 2015

ISSUE 2

Vol. 70

February 18, Ash Wednesday 6:00 p.m.

Starting Conversations: Lent 2015

Mid-week Soup Suppers 5:00 p.m.

Worship and Fellowship 5:45 p.m.

We will again come together around the supper table for more than soup this year. As the meal draws to a close we will watch a different video that focuses on one “practice” of the church. Then we will share some songs, prayers, offerings, and “table talk” as in past years.

The Maundy Thursday gathering will be in our main sanctuary at 6:00 p.m..

We will hope to share breakfast and the Good Friday morning service back in the fellowship hall. All locations are subject to work being scheduled on our elevator.

Day “Practice” Theme

February 25 Food Eating with Jesus

March 4 Prayer Oriented Toward God

March 11 Money The Joy of Sharing

March 18 Service The Needs Right around Us

March 25 Community An Unexpected Family

Maundy Thurs-day – April 2

Sacraments

Rooted in Love: a Tapestry in

Tradition

Good Friday

April 3

Morning &

Evening Service

6: 30 a.m. 7:00 p.m.

Seeking God’s Presence

Evening Service with Hope Lutheran at AHLC

2

The Green Spyder Bike

One of the reasons I enjoy subscribing to and reading The Atlantic Monthly

is a regular column at the end of each issue: “The Big Question.” The edi-

tor then solicits responses to that “big question” from a variety of sources.

The big question for the December issue was, “What was the greatest gift

of all time?” In answer to this question,

A Yale professor suggested a book sent in 827 A.D. from the

Byzantine Emperor to the Frankish Emperor that “arguably

ended the Dark Ages”…

A director of the Smithsonian suggested James Smithson’s gift of his estate to found

that institution.

J. Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, offered Norman Borlaug’s develop

ment of wheat seeds that could thrive in a variety of environments and that inaugu-

rated the green revolution which ultimately fed 1 billion people.

Paul Collier, an economist, suggested Tim Berners-Lee’s gift to the world of a free and

public World Wide Web.

These are all tremendous gifts and marvelous reminders, but the one I am drawn to was of-

fered by an advice columnist, Amy Dickenson. She wrote, “God did send his only son to Earth

to heal us. But then there’s the green Spyder bike my mom gave me when I was 8. I don’t

put these gifts on the same level, but that bike was great. And my mother wheeled it into the

living room in the middle of the night to surprise me on Christmas morning.”

While I agree that those gifts are not on the same level of sacrifice or scope, they are of the

same “cross shape.” Amy Dickenson’s mother sacrificed a bit of sleep, maybe the discomfort

of having to go into the cold to retrieve that bike late at night, and probably some of her

money to make that Christmas Day surprise a reality. The “cross shape” of both gifts is the

shape of love. In that sense, one mother’s gift of a bicycle is on the same level as that book

passed from emperor to emperor, that estate to found the Smithsonian, a life committed to

food production or one dedicated to the free sharing of information.

I will try to keep this in mind as I recall similar gifts my parents made to me on countless

Christmas mornings: a “Fanner Fifty Six Shooter,” now long lost, a teddy bear I kept for dec-

ades, and an electric train I still have stored under the stairs. The memories of these gifts

and Ms. Dickenson’s story will help me to consider the challenges put forth by our Bible

study these past weeks on sharing our gifts with others. That study leader opines that “the

best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them away.”

God surely did that. God gave the best away: God’s only beloved Son – God’s own self! When

we give our time, talent, and/or estate to our children, our neighbors and our church, we are

reflecting the same “cross shaped” love of God.

May we all have the courage and wisdom to give it away… Pr. Roger

3

ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS

Please read John 2: 1 – 11, Exodus 20: 1 – 17, Deuteronomy 5: 6: 21

The introduction to ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS, by Timothy Keller, in-

cludes a description of the author’s experience when studying one verse

from Mark’s Gospel for 30 minutes.

After five minutes he thought he had identified everything of value in that

verse. As he forced himself to continue he found more insights. The in-

sights gained during the last 5 minutes were the most profound and the

most rewarding. When intensive and prolonged study became a habit he

found the God spoke to him with increasingly clarity. Is prolonged and intensive consid-

eration of a single verse a Bible Study technique that you would consider?

The subtitle of ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS is Unexpected Answers to Life’s Biggest Ques-

tions. Those questions (page xiii) are: What is the world for? What is wrong with it? What,

if anything, can make it right? and How can I be a part of making it right?

This is the first paragraph of chapter 1, The Skeptical Student (page 1). “The first encoun-

ter I want to consider is a subtle but powerful one with a skeptical student. It addresses

the most fundamental of all the big questions of Life: Where should we look for answers

to the big questions of life?” Who do you think is the skeptical student? Would you expect

that the author’s statements in this chapter to be helpful in responding to the skepticism

of other people?

The subject of chapter 4, The Wedding Party (pages 58 – 80), is about the wedding in

Cana. Like all the chapters, it describe Jesus’ interactions with individuals or small groups.

These questions may occur to you when reading the Biblical account in John 2: 1 – 11:

Did Jesus violate one of the Commandments when he spoke to his mother?

What is the meaning of the word “hour” in verse 4?

What is the job description of the Steward of the Feast?

Was there anything special about the containers of water which Jesus used to replenish

the supply of wine?

What is the significance about the persons who knew the origin of the wine?

What is the significance of the quality of the original wine and the wine that Jesus pro-

vided?

Why is the changing of the water into wine, as described in verse 11, called a sign and not

a miracle?

Chapter 4 contains the answers to these questions along with many other details. Mr. Kel-

ler stated (page 58) that his purpose in writing chapter 4 was to present his thoughts of

how Jesus made things right. When you have finished reading that chapter do you think

that the author has accomplished his purpose in a way that you could imitate?

Chapter 3 is entitled The Insider and the Outcast. To which of the people that Jesus met

do you think do those adjectives refer?

ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS is available on the book cart in the gathering area. When you

have finished reading it please return it so that others scan find it. Even better, give it to

someone with the request that they pass it on when they have finished.

Thanks. Clair

4

SLOW EXIT I wish I could help her to understand,

But she lives like a stranger in an unknown land.

To see her on the outside, she looks just the same,

But in her head, the monster has staked its claim.

She often withdraws into her own little space,

Who does she see when she looks at my face?

At times she is frustrated, anxious, forlorn,

And others she appears just tired and worn.

I wonder as she gazes through distant eyes,

What’s going on in her head is anyone’s surprise.

It’s heartbreaking to watch her when she doesn’t know,

Her expression is vacant, where did she go?

She appears to be happy whether absent or here,

What must it be like to live in two spheres?

She’s been robbed of her love and joy to give,

Not to mention her zest and vigor to live.

One day the time will come for her final curtain call,

As she bids farewell, in love, to family, friends and all.

Then from this heinous illness, she will finally be released,

To be free to live with Jesus in wholeness, grace and peace.

Diane Allmendinger

January 15, 2015

Observations of my mother, Sylvia Collison, as she lives with dementia.

Congratulations to Julie Stevenson on her retirement. Julie will be retiring at

the end of January after

30 years with the IRS.

You are invited to an Open House which will be held on Sunday,

February 8, 2015

From 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m

in the AHLC Reception Room.

Fellowship at Culvers

Hudson Road by

SunRay

February 16

Monday

5:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m.

5

Free tax assistance from AARP

will begin every Wednesday

starting February 11

through April 15 9-12.

First come first serve.

Doors open at 8:30 a.m.

News from the Pastor and the Board for Worship Music and the Arts

The amphitheater has been booked for Sunday services at Lake Phalen

on June 21, 28 Aug. 2, 9, with the congregational picnic on August 30.

When there is a service at the Park we will have an earlier service at church, on the Sundays when we are NOT at the Park there will be ONE service at church. Communion will be offered at those services.

In February, we will return to using Communion at the rail rather than intinction. This is neither a permanent nor a long-term shift. Pastor would like to see some “flexibility” with our commun-ion pattern. We also asked Pastor to pursue some gluten-free recipes so we could “all eat from the same loaf.” We are also considering going to “one cup” containing grape juice, so we could also “drink from the same cup.”

Daylight Saving Time

March 8. Set your clocks

ahead one hour.

DIVINE DOLLARS- Our Divine Dollars program has been up and running since early

October. The results so far have been extremely positive. Please check out the program at

Shopscrip.com. Earn Divine Dollars for your church while you shop your daily needs includ-

ing gas and groceries. Sign up for PrestoPay (like paypal) to take maximum advantage of

this remarkable program from your home computer. Divine Dollars enrollment code for

AHLC is *64C4656C3762L* Thanks so much for supporting AHLC in 2014.

Questions about the program may be directed to Tom Brockway or Dave Balfanz .

Pastoral Acts–

Deaths -

December

Dolores Westin

Richard Nelson

END OF YEAR CONTRIBUTIONS— statements have been mailed . Just a reminder that donations made for altar or memorial garden flowers are not included in this statement as they are non-deductible. Contact Diane in the office if you have any questions.

Can you help?

Alley Shoppe needs

some cake and frosting for

the birthday bags. The items

can be dropped cake mix or

frosting at the office.

Thank you.

6

Thank you to all who participated in our puzzle time. Had lots of fun and

fellowship together. There are about 30 puzzles in our puzzle library. You

can check one out and just return it when you are done. The puzzles will

be in the Reception Room at this time, if you would like to look them over to

see which one you might want to try. Pieces from 250-1500.

Who do you think does puzzles without looking at the box (ever) ?

Who starts on the inside and works her way out of a puzzle?

Who likes mystery puzzles?

What is the biggest puzzle you ever put together ?

7

Our February selection is CEZANNE'S QUARRY, by Barbara Pope. This mys-

tery tells of the murder of a beautiful woman in 19th century France. The two

suspects are the artist, Paul Cezanne, and an Englishman. Cezanne, who lived

from 1839 to 1906 is considered to be one of the most influential artists in the

history of 20th century painting. He was the first of the Post-Impressionist

artists.

The Book Club meets the third Monday of the month at 10:30 a.m. in the

Reception Room. All are welcome!

ROMEO BREAKFAST

March 8

The ROMEO’S will be serving a deli-

cious breakfast following the 8:00 a.m. and the 9:30 a.m. Sanctuary Ser-

vice on Sunday, March 8th. Proceeds

will again benefit our Christmas Community Celebration put on by our

own Alley Shoppe crew each Decem-

ber. Circle your calendar, watch your Sunday bulletin for further details, and

plan to join us.

Join us as we Breathe, Stretch, and Pray together with Yoga Devotions at AHLC 3:00 p.m. APRIL 1– MAY 20 (8 weeks) for a suggested donation of $24.00 $3.00 per session. This is a great opportunity to exercise at your own level and

enjoy the benefits of stretching and strengthening your muscles

while filling your spiritual cup. You choose your level

of participation…. sitting in a chair, standing or lying on a

floor mat. Class taught by Yoga teacher, Cristi Hoving.

You are always welcome to try a class before committing to a

whole session. Sign up by calling the church office.

8

Calendar

9

Strategic Planning Update —

In 2014, the Mission Investment Fund recommended that the Church Council assemble a Strategic

Planning Team to address a list of important, long term church management issues. These included a

wide range of topics, all designed to help Arlington Hills make even more effective and efficient use of

our resources in the coming years. The idea was to make sure that our congregation is as well pre-

pared as we can be to handle our many upcoming responsibilities and challenges.

The team that has been assembled is already hard at work and the congregation had a chance to hear

more about their goals and plans at the Strategic Planning Forum held on January 11th. At this forum,

Committee Chair Mike Wiehe reviewed eight primary strategic planning tasks and led members

through a discussion about church communications---one of the first tasks being tackled.

Communication is always important, but especially so in a church where so much depends on the lat-

est news and information getting out to members. The Strategic Planning Committee was delighted

with the enthusiastic participation and ideas offered by members during this discussion. Many of

these ideas are already being researched and considered---including the possibility of a church hotline

you can call for a recorded message featuring the weekly events and other timely news. The goal?

Making sure you don’t miss a thing that’s happening at Arlington Hills.

More will come on this topic, in addition to the other tasks being pursued by the committee. Among

the first of these is the evaluation of church operations, staffing and finances. This process will begin

on February 5th with a facilitated focus group discussion including all church staff and representative

volunteers. These folks know church operations better than anybody, so this will be a great opportu-

nity for sharing and listening to their thoughts about challenges, improvements and opportunities for

managing Arlington Hills’ internal operations. This will be a fun, free-wheeling session providing help-

ful information to the Strategic Planning Committee as they evaluate recommendations for the congre-

gation.

Strategic planning is a process that will take place over time and with input from everybody at Arling-

ton Hills. We’re off to a great start and thank you for your already enthusiastic participation!

Save the date-

February 8, Sunday — Adult Forum after 9: 30 a.m. service

February 16, Monday – Culver’s 5:00 p.m. –7:00 p.m.

February 18 Wednesday — Ash Wednesday Service 6:00 p.m.

March is Food Share Month

March 8, Sunday — ROMEOS after each service

March 20, Friday — Game night for all ages 5:30 p.m. Bring a dish to pass.

March 31 Palm Sunday — 3rd Annual Bake Auction after 9:30 a.m. service

April 12 Sunday– Agape 9:30 a.m. service

April 18 & 19 Saturday and Sunday— 9:00 a.m.—11:00 a.m. Aluminum Can Drive

April 25 Saturday — Alley Shoppe Tea 2:00 p.m .

10

AHLC contact information update

No need to duplicate if one is filled out.

In an effort to improve AHLC internal communication, please complete this form

with your contact information. You can either drop it off at the church office, put it

in the offering or email to Cheryl at cheryl@ahlc-stp.org by

February 15. Thank you for your assistance in this project.

Name_________________________ Cell Phone__________________________

EMAIL _______________________Home Phone_______________________

BEST WAY TO CONTACT (circle one) Phone/Cell Home Email Facebook

Other____________________________________

Spouse____________________________ Cell _________________________

EMAIL ________________________Home Phone______________________

BEST WAY TO CONTACT (circle one) Phone/Cell Home Email Facebook

Other_____________________________________

Emergency Contact

Name ____________________________Relationship_____________________

Cell _________________________Home Phone_________________________

Email_______________________________

I give my permission to AHLC staff to contact my children or emergency

contact.

Signature______________________________________________________

We would like permission to use your picture (if taken) for the website,

Facebook or Light from the Heights. Please circle the ones we can use.

Yes_____ No______ Signature______________________________

Please complete if you have not done so, return in person or mail to:

AHLC 1115 Greenbrier St. St. Paul, MN 55106

Birthday Cards are sent out to our members who are 80 and older. If you have not

received a card is it possible we don't have your birthday date? Please let the office

know. Thank you.

11

Ushers

1 Clair Haberman, David Lauver, Lectors

Dan Reed 1 Jon Helgason

8 Dennis and Florence Rasmusson 8 Mary Kowitz

15 Wayne Blossey, John Hollman, Dan Reed 15 Shirley Decker

22 Chuck and Elaine Rohrbach 22 Cheryl Hollman

Communion Assistants 9:30 a. m.

1 Wiehe family 15 Chuck and Elaine Rohrbach /Carol Hansen

Communion Assistant 8 :00 a. m. Jim Persoon

Tape Ministry Office Volunteer Fellowship/Coffee

1 Sharon Hanson 1 Jo Ann Metling 1 Lynn Boogren

8 Clair Haberman 8 Priscilla Reeve 8 Judi Solmonson

15 Clair Haberman 15 Marlene Odeen

22 Eugene Karls 22 Carol Hansen

Greeters Front Door Sound Booth

1 Gee Winter and Sharon Swanson 1 David Lauver

8 Barbara Schmidt and Jim Persoon 8 Mike Brown

15 15 David Lauver

22 John and Cheryl Hollman 22 Mike Brown

North Door

1 Carol Hansen 15 Skai Zarins

8 Cindie Peterson 22

. Newsletter Articles

The Lights welcomes news and features from readers and staff members. All articles need to be print ready. The edi-tors reserve the right to edit material for content and length. E-mail articles to Cheryl Hollman at cheryl@ahlc-stp.org or leave it in the church office. Please have all articles in the office by the 15th of every month. We need time to proof-

read and structure the layout. Thanks for your understand-ing. All address changes and mailing inquiries should be directed to Cheryl

at (651) 771-5501.

Lay Servant Coordinators Director, Alley Shoppe:

Pam Wiehe

Communion Assistants:

Florence Rasmusson

Greeters: Catherine Schoonover

Lectors: Priscilla Reeve

Sound Booth: David Lauver

Transportation Team:

Chuck Larsen

Acolyte Coordinator:

Mary Cincotta

Coffee & Cookie Fellowship

Julie Stevenson

12

ARLINGTON HILLS

LUTHERAN CHURCH

OFFICE HOURS:

MONDAY-THURSDAY

9:00 A.M. – 4 :00 P.M.

&

FRIDAY

9:00 A.M. – 3 :00 P.M.

PHONE: 651-771-5501

Fax: 651-771-2898

E-Mail: www.info@ahlc-stp.org

Visit us at: www.ahlc-stp.org

Facebook

Arlington Hills Lutheran Church Staff *part-time Ext.#

Senior Pastor: Pastor Roger Allmendinger 17

Administrative Assistants: Diane Allmendinger* 11

Cheryl Hollman* 16

Local Mission Program Coordinator Pam Wiehe* 19

Chief Custodian: Jim Jaszczak 23

Asst. Custodians: Dorothy Peterson* Kirk Solmonson* Indira Perez*

Organist/Director of Special Music: Sharon Vicic*

Chapel Organist & Choir Director: Barbara Rossow*

Handbell Director: Chuck Linderkamp*

Wedding Coordinator: Sharon Hanson*

Companion Congregation — Idegenda, Tanzania, Africa

OUR MISSION: “To Spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to all in word and deed.”

OUR VISION: “Arlington Hills Lutheran Church

Community, a Beacon for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”

Arlington Hills Lutheran

Church

1115 Greenbrier Street

St. Paul, MN 55106

Dated Material

January 28,2015

Address Service Requested

Non-Profit

Organization

U. S. Postage

PAID

Twin Cities, MN

Permit No. 1400