www.auroratrinitylutheran.

org

December 2014 Newsletter

Special Worship
Services:
Food Shelf Sunday
Sunday, December 7th
Please give to this worthy cause,
as we Feed Bodies with the Love
of Jesus
Aurora Sunday School Christmas
Program:

Sunday, December 14th 6:30

p.m.
Come and see what the Sunday
School students have been
preparing.

Christmas Services:
Christmas Eve-Aurora- 5:00 p.m.
Christmas Day-Trinity- 9:00 a.m.
Communion Worship Services:
Sunday, December 7th & 21st

Mission Committee Meeting

The Mission Committee will meet on
December 4th, at 3pm at Hy-Vee in Owatonna.
This is an open group, so anyone is welcome
to join us as we discuss mission opportunities
and our mission goals for 2015.

Mitten Tree

The annual Trinity Mitten Tree will be up

through Sunday, December 7th. Please
donate new or clean, gently used
mittens, gloves, scarves, hats, socks or
any other winter accessories. These
items will be donated to the Blooming
Prairie Christmas Wish Tree project,
Blooming Prairie Elementary School, and
Blooming Prairie Boys and Girls Club.
Please help spread the warmth this
holiday season.

Christmas Caroling
Both Aurora and Trinity will be doing some
Christmas Caroling this year for our members
who arent able to leave their homes. On
Sunday, December 21st, at 2pm, Aurora will
begin its caroling at Koda Living Center and
then head to other locations from there. Trinity
will be caroling on Christmas morning, before
worship, at Ella Bensons house at 8:30am. All
are welcome!

Young Adults Group

Please refer to Facebook with
information on upcoming events.

Youth and Families Corner:

December Confirmation Schedule:
Wednesday,, December 3rd 6:30pm at
Aurora
Wed., December 10th 6:30pm at Aurora
Aurora Sunday School Christmas
Program:
The Aurora Sunday School Christmas
Program will be on Sunday, December
14h at 6:30 p.m. Please continue to help
your child with their lines and songs.
Christmas Break
Aurora Sunday School will not be in
session Sunday, Dec 21st and 28th. We
will resume on Sunday, Jan. 4th at 9:15
a.m. (Please note time change)
Luther League Lock-In
Mark your calendars! Luther League (6th
12th grade) will be having a joint lockin with Red Oak Grove Lutheran at Red
Oak Grove on January 23rd. More
information will be in the January
newsletter.
Scholarships:
Scholarship applications are now
available. Forms can be found in the
Aurora Narthex or available from Pastor
Jon or Lisa Korbel. There are four
scholarships for Aurora/Trinity students
who are currently attending a college or
trade school. The scholarships will be
awarded sometime in early 2015.

Special Thanks:

I want to thank each and

every one from Aurora and
Trinity for the SURPRISE lunch,
cards and beautiful wall
hanging I received for my
retirement from playing organ
at Aurora. Also, a big thank
you to Sara Pichner and Emily
Paape for taking over for me.
Gods Blessings to All,
Debbie Gehring
January Time Change:
Worship times will be changing on
Sunday, January 4th
Aurora Worship: 10:30 a.m./ S.S. 9:15 a.m.
Trinity Worship: 9:00 a.m./S.S.: 10:00 a.m.

WELCA:
Christmas Program:
WELCA will be serving at the Sunday
School Christmas Program on Sunday,
December 14th. Hostesses are: Kathy
Jensen, Betty Jensen, Gail Larson and
April Prestegard
$6000 from the diner proceeds
went to the following organizations
year:
o
Aurora Building Fund: 1,000
o
Local Salvation Army: $500
o
Steele County Food Shelf:$500
o
Steele County Clothesline:$500
o
Center for Family Unity:$500
o
Lutheran Seminary, St.Paul:$500
o
Steele Co. Crisis Resource Center:
$400
o
Local Red Cross:$300
o
Good Earth Village:$300
o
Project Home:$300
o
Christ Through Helping Hand:
$300
o
Lutheran Social Services:$300
o
Lutheran World Relief:$300
o
Hospitality House: $300

Volunteer Opportunity:
WELCA is looking for a volunteer to be a
WELCA Director for 2015. This position
will help plan and coordinate Welca
events for the year. If you are interested
or want to know more about the position,
contact a current director (Kay Klemmer,
Jodi Keck, Angie Jensen or Jeanne
Pichner).
***Did you know next year is the 50th
Anniversary of the Diner?? Do you have any
great ideas for how we can celebrate this
milestone at the fair stand in 2015? Please let
WELCA know!!
Newsletter Deadline:
Please have all information for the JAN
newsletter and calendar to Lisa by Fri. Dec.
19th. Send your info to:
auroratrinityoffice@gmail.com or call 507-4560740.

I love the Bibleand I wrestle with it. There are parts, if Im honest, that I have questions about.
There are statements on its pages that I dont believe capture the character and the will of God.
Pastor Adam Hamilton, author of Making Sense of the Bible.

How Do We Make Sense of the Bible?

I hear all the time from people who say that they dont read their Bible because they dont know how to
understand it in light of our everyday life. Why do the four Gospels not agree on details of Jesus story? Why
does the God we see in Jesus not match the other pictures of God that we find in Scripture? Can I believe in
science and evolution and the Bible? What about dinosaurs? Were Adam and Eve real people? Is it okay to get
a tattoo, according to the Bible? Does the Bible really say women shouldnt speak in church?
This past summer when we gathered together to talk about homosexuality and the church, many people had
questions about homosexuality and what the Bible says. Many seemed ready to learn about what the Bible
says about homosexuality and why people interpret those verses differently.
Many of us have great respect for the Bible and think it is really important, but most of us dont read it. I think
most of us dont read it because we dont know how to make sense of it. So, lets gather together this January
and February to see if we all can grow in our understanding of Scripture and how to read it. To do this, we will
do a book study using Making Sense of the Bible, by Adam Hamilton. We will have a six-session study on the
following topics:
Session 1: Making Sense of the Old Testament
Session 2: Making Sense of the New Testament
Session 3: Questions about the Nature of Scripture
Session 4: The Bible and Science
Session 5: Violence, Suffering, and Other Troubling Issues
Session 6: Wrestling with Issues of Sexuality and Relationships
Each week, there will be assigned chapter readings. There are two opportunities to attend this book study:

Monday Evenings
Jan. 5 , 12th, 19th, 26th, Feb. 2nd and Feb.
9th
6:30pm-8:00pm
Ken and Anne Prestegards House
4759 SE 48th St. Owatonna, MN
th

Tuesday Afternoons
Jan. 6 , 13th, 20th, 27th, Feb. 3rd and Feb.
10th.
1:30pm-3:00pm
Olivias Restaurant
Near Walmart in Owatonna
th

Please sign-up at church for this study and to purchase a book. Cost of the book is $17. Or you can also
purchase an e-book version on your own for about $11. I know this is pricey, but I dont want the cost of the
book to prevent anyone from coming to this study. If the cost of the book is too much, please let me know and
we will figure something out.

Peace and love,

Pastor Jon

Aurora Lutheran Church Council Meeting

November 19, 2014

The monthly meeting of the Aurora Lutheran Church Council was held on Nov. 19 th, 2014. Present were Angie Jensen, Paul Korbel, Jodi
Keck, Mie Bishman, Brett Paape, Jared Prestegard, Curtis Jensen, Sara Pichner, Pastor Jon, Michelle Williams, Roberta Jensen, and April
Prestegard.

Secretary Report: Correction to secretary report: D & M had not been approved yet to do snow removal. Correction was approved- All other
secretary info was correct.
Treasures Report:
Guide One Insurance: Requiring ALL persons who desire to work with the children participating in our programs and activities to be screened.
We are going to have someone come to our next council meeting to discuss hot to implement these procedures.
Oct Income: $6438.238

Oct. Expenses: $5809.00

YTD Income: $67,897.95 YTD Expenses: $64,409.26

If you donate something to the church, Jodi asks that you still turn in the receipt for your purchase(s) so they can track these expenses. It will
also be credited towards and offering under your name.
Treasures report approved.
New Business:
The furnace has been having problems. KSW has been here twice to look at it. KSW said it is a good furnace, but we are still having some
issues. We are going to have Demls Heating look at it to get a second opinion.
Tanya Artmann has been cleaning the church. She has been doing a great job. She has notice the hood vent above the stove has been
having rust particles falling from it. We are going to get this fixed.
Pastor Jon will be stating a Book Study starting Jan. 5th. The book he chose for the study is Making Sense of the Bible. It will be a 6-week
study. If you would like to purchase this book, please contact Pastor Jon. He will also have a sign-up for this at Church.
Lent Soup Supper: We are looking of someone to take over the Lenten soup suppers. We need someone to organize the suppers. Jodi is
willing to work with whomever take this over to help them learn what needs to be done. There are 4 weeks total the need to be organized.
We need one person/family to organize the overall Lenten soup supper (There can be other families that take one night)
Pastors from MN River Conference will be meeting at Aurora the Dec. 16 th at 9:30- 12:30 p.m. WELCA will be sponsoring.
Unfinished Business:
Playground- Thank you for your extra donations. All materials have been purchased. We will finish this project in the spring.
Parsonage: The roof needs to be fixed. We can add a vent in the area of concern that will get us thru the winter and we will fix it in the
spring. Theres a little bit of painting left which can also wait until spring.
Snow Removal: We will use D & M. We will call them when we need to have the snow moved. Tim Johnson will be shoveling sidewalks.
Curtis did get a new flag for our flag pole.
We need to replace a vacuum for the church.
Jared got bids for the sound system for the church. He was told that the whole sound system should be replaced by one company. He is
going to be talking with other companies. Pastor Jon will be talking to someone to come and look at it.
We are going to add a Report of Total Giving and Attendance to the bulletin every other week. This is to help keep the congregation
informed about where our offering money goes and where the needs of the church are financially.
Dates to Remember:
Sunday School Christmas Program December 14, 2014 6:30 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted, Michelle Williams/lmk