Marriage: Roger Chambers and Rita Wagner were united in marriage on April 30^th. Marcy Crouch and Ron Mayhew were united in marriage on May 21^st. God’s blessings!

Baptisms: Received in the joy of the Christian community through Holy Baptism were Aidan Joseph Kelley, Zachary Edward Giorgianni, Joshua Edward Kistler, Jordan Matthew Kistler, and Tracey Deann Kistler. Aidan was born on February 19, 2005 and is the son of Liz and David Kelley. Zachary was born on July 25, 1996 and is the son of Jodi and Sal Giorgianni. Joshua was born on Dec. 31, 2003 and Jordan was born on May 26, 1999. They are the sons of Mark and Tracey Kistler. Welcome to the Lord’s family!

Recovering from Hospitalization: Brenda Himsel, Bob Milburn, Miriam Simpson, Lillian Tatum, Denise Wade

Friends and Family: Jim Oberman & family, Laura Ruholl, Glenn Snyder, Trevor Farmer, Lynda Olson, Elizabeth Miller, Linda Casey, Alex Harrison, Jeff Whittington

In ancient cities the market places were where everything happened – from purchasing food to catching up with the neighbors. Come see how we transform the fellowship hall into a Jerusalem Marketplace with pottery, herb, and music shops – just to name a few – along with story tellers walking through the market.

Please register at www.rlcindy.org and click-on the VBS sign-up sheet! We look forward to traveling back in Biblical time with you soon!

We have had a successful Confirmation program for several years and now it is time to expand – from cradle through high school graduation. We will be redesigning faith education from a once-a-week church program into a natural process that takes place every night in every home with households equipped as faith mentors and guides for their own children, with the whole Resurrection Lutheran Church faith community as reinforcement – not replacement.

Eight stepping stones that are implemented at eight crucial moments during a child’s life and designed to build simple faith practices and dialogue into the nightly ritual.

H2H Confirmation

6^th through 8^th graders

Head 2 Heart is confirmation curriculum based on learning, serving, and play/fellowship. We are growing an inspired and informed middle school small group into a high school youth group ministry with connections as disciples.

Y3* Youth Group

– 9^th through 12^th graders

Y3 is a Senior High immersion study into the complexity of the Universe and the greatest questions ever asked:

Why God? Why Jesus? Why the Bible?

Youth Group will be a continuation of small group relationship ministry from confirmation.

*Y3 is currently a test program for Faith Inkubators. RLC is a test site for “Why God?” Throughout the year we will explore, critique, and tweak Faith Inkubators’ new apologetics course for Senior High youth.

In our Mission and Vision Statement we proclaim to be people who are called to welcome, nurture, equip, and serve. Faith Stepping Stone, H2H, and Y3 are opportunities to live out this mission and vision.

Peace,

REGULAR/SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING

of the Congregation of

RESURRECTION EVANGELICAL

LUTHERAN CHURCH

June 5, 2005 at 9:30am

  1.   Call to Order

  2.   Opening Devotions

  3.   Determination of Quorum

  4.   Acceptance of Minutes

        of Previous Meeting

  5.   Reports of Administrative Boards

  6.   Financial Report

  7.   Other Reports

  8.   Audit Team Report

  9.   Nominating Team Report

10. Election to Congregation

        Council

11. Discipleship Hour –

        Teacher Recognition

12. New Business

13. Staff Report

14. Adjournment

A Study of Psalms . . . .

Rev. John Moe will be teaching a class on the Psalms the first two Sundays of July at 9:30am. Psalm 79 is a Lament Psalm and Psalm l2l is a Pilgrimage Psalm. Bring a friend and join us as we let these ancient prayers and songs speak to us today.

Ordination and Celebration

Sunday, June 5^th!

8:00am Worship

9:30am Regular/Semi-Annual Congregation Meeting in the Fellowship Hall with a continental breakfast!

10:45am Special worship service for the Ordination of Scott Mikkelson with Bishop Stuck presiding

12:15pm Pitch-in Luncheon to celebrate Scott Mikkelson’s Ordination!

Mens Breakfast . . . .

For the June 11^th Men's Breakfast we are planning a social breakfast with conversation. All men are invited. We will still begin breakfast at 7:30 and plan to go to 9:00am. Some small group conversation will be planned as well. Looking forward to seeing as many men as possible! (There will be no breakfast in July.)

Perry Park Update . . . .

On his last Sunday with us before leaving on Sabbatical, Pastor Dave reported to the congregation that we have received word from the administration of the Perry Township Schools that at this time they are not interested in moving forward with us in considering the sale of some of the adjacent Perry Park property to Resurrection. The door was left open to possibly considering such a sale in the future, but at the present our conversation with them is not going to go forward.

Pastor Dave invited the congregation to join him in prayer over the summer to seek God’s guidance on how to best address our congregation’s need for ministry facilities. He invited us to do some creative, “out of the box” thinking about the various ways we can help move our mission and ministry forward. After his return from Sabbatical, we will likely form a team to do some research and thinking about the possibilities that lay before us.

Confirmation Camp

June 19-24 at Lake Luther . .

Confirmation Camp participants need to arrive at Lake Luther between 3:00-5:00pm on Sunday, June 19. If you need transportation to and from camp please let Julie Peralta know ASAP. On the last day of camp, June 24, campers are to be picked up at 1:00pm. Everyone attending camp should have received a post card from Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod confirming their registration. If you did not, please let Julie know. Looking forward to your arrival at Lake Luther!

PICTORIAL DIRECTORY

PHOTO DATES SET !

Take a preliminary look at your calendars! The Olan Mills photographers will be at RLC on July 25-26 and August 10-13. That covers every day of the week (except Sunday) so you should be able to find an hour on one of those days to be included in our 2005 directory. We will not begin the formal sign-up process until the end of June, but the planning has already begun and you will be notified well in advance for when to look for the sign-up and information tables.

If you have any interest in helping the Pictorial Directory Ministry Team, please contact Stacie or Jill at 889-3262 or sfruth@insightbb.com. We likely will need more help than what our current team can provide, so please don’t hesitate to become involved. The time commitment is minimal and the final product is well worth it!

June 18 5:30pm

Vacation Bible School

Worship and Celebration

. . . . And then mail it back to RLC! We know that folks from Resurrection will be traveling all over the country – and the world – this summer. We’d like to have an idea what sorts of places – both the interesting and the mundane – people are visiting this summer. We also know that sometimes people get behind in their offerings when they aren’t here on Sundays during the summer. So, we’d like you to take your offering with you on your summer travels, and then mail it back to church. Enclosed with this edition of the Bell Ringer is a special envelope in which you can place your offering envelope and then drop in a mailbox wherever your journeys take you. We’ll have a map of the United States in the narthex and we’ll add markers to show where the offerings have come from during the summer. We’ll also attach the envelopes around the map so that we can see all of the postmarks and check out the stamps. There will be extra envelopes with the map in case you will have the opportunity to mail from more than one place.

Just imagine . . . perhaps the youth group will leave a trail of postmarks across the map as they make their pilgrimage trip to the mountains of Colorado this summer. Maybe the Schreibers will keep us abreast of their travels during sabbatical. Who will send an offering back from the furthest distance away? What will be the most unusual stamp used? Join in the fun and take your offering with you this summer to mail back to us at RLC!

Vacation Bible School is seeking the following donations to assist us during the week of June 13-17:

• Baskets for decorating our market place (for loan only, please mark them with your name)

Please drop your items off at Julie’s office by June 6^th! If you have any questions please contact Lynn Wolff.

On Monday, June 6^th the Faith Builders (current 6^th-8^th graders) and the Youth Group (current 9^th-12^th graders) will depart RLC at 7:30am for a day of fun and excitement. The cost is $30 plus food.

Drivers Needed – Adults please contact Julie Peralta if you are interested in participating in a day full of fun at Kings Island in Cincinnati.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

I cannot begin to express the sincere and heartfelt thanks I feel for all that RLC has been to me and my family. Your prayers, your encouragement, and your unbelievable financial support this past year have been very humbling and I am filled with gratitude.

This past year has been, in many ways, the most difficult yet rewarding and affirming time in my life. The classes have been extraordinarily beneficial in solidifying my theology about God, life, and faith. I have learned and experienced about worship and Lutheran theology in ways I did not know were possible. My faith has been challenged and strengthened through the Seminary professors and through the requiredreadings for each of the courses. (Some I enjoyed immensely and some I still wonder what it was all about!) Learning Hebrew was a challenge, but I will find it beneficial as I prepare for Bible studies and sermons. Lutheran Confessions gave me a tremendous understanding of the history of Lutheran Theology from Luther and other church fathers. The Book of Concord is a deep and rich book and I would invite you to read it sometime. We had to re-memorize Luther’s Small Catechism. What a challenge that was! I have a greater appreciation of our worship from a wonderful professor, Mons Tieg. His insight into why we worship is something that I will be taking to the congregation to which I am called. I have been able to understand the art of sermon writing and presentation and look forward to using those skills to preach and proclaim the word of God to a community of faith on a weekly basis. (RLC is blessed to have two very gifted preachers!!!)

My greatest joy this year, however, has been the chance to talk about you and to share with others the experience that I had the privilege of being a part of while serving at RLC. There were many times when I was told of the gift I had received from RLC – the gift of each of you being the people of God and truly living out being the “priesthood of all believers.” The final exam in one of my classes consisted of an oral exam with the professor, who, by the way, is the president-elect of Luther Seminary. His final question was, “What do you hope to see in the congregation that you will be serving?” My response was, “To be a part of a congregation that lives out being the priesthood of all believers.” His response was, “Everyone wants that to happen, but they become disappointed when it doesn’t. Do you think that it is even possible?” My response was, “Yes! I have already experienced it at RLC and know that it can happen!” He heard me speak of what RLC has been doing and said, “You are right, you have.”

This year has also been a tremendous affirmation of God’s calling me into ordained ministry. I have enjoyed the Seminary studies, but what I have missed more than anything this year, was being and working with the people of God in a community of faith. Throughout the interview process that I have had with three different churches in Northwest Minnesota, I realized how much I have missed being in ministry together with the people of God. During my interviews I shared the passion that I have for preaching and teaching, but also my passion for caring for and loving the people of God. God has used you to instill in me a passion for giving pastoral care. That gift has only been strengthened throughout this past year and is one that I believe will help me to be the pastor that God has called me to be. Through the interview process during the past few weeks, all three congregations have affirmed God’s call to me. One of them has stood out above the other two and is a call that has been mutual. By the time you read this, a Letter of Call will have been issued for me to serve as pastor of that congregation in Minnesota. I am looking forward to getting back into the ministry of the priesthood of all believers.

The next step after receiving a Letter of Call is the Ordination of a Pastor. This is where I feel it is only appropriate for RLC to have a significant part of this Call process. I have requested to have the Service of Ordination at RLC on June 5^th, 2005, because this is where God called me to Ordained Ministry. You have had a significant role in this whole process and I would be greatly indebted to have my Ordination culminated at RLC. I invite each of you to share in this meaningful time in my life. You truly have been a blessing to me and my family. It is RLC that Karen and I as well as our children will always remember as our church home and where we have “family” that will forever be a part of our lives.

ChristCare is a system of small group ministry. Listed below are the active ChristCare groups here at Resurrection, with the name and phone numbers of the group leader(s), and when the groups will be meeting in June and July. There are a few groups with space available and open to new members. Other groups are closed either due to reaching the maximum size of 12 or due to their group’s focus.

Sundays at 5:30 at church until about 7:15 - initially meeting weekly and then transitioning to twice a month – scheduled meetings include June 12 & 19

This group is taking a break over the summer after a fellowship event after June 11.

RLC will be participating in a Habitat for Humanity build later this year. Build dates and other details are not known as press time, but will be communicated through the weekly announcement page as they get finalized.

The build will be in partnership with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Lutheran High School and other Lutheran congregations.

Please direct questions and comments to Larry Moore, at LMoore1441@insightbb.com

On behalf of Lutheran Disability Ministries and our HandyCamp campers, I would like to express our gratitude to RLC. Your generous gift of woodcraft kits will be a tremendous blessing to us this summer. (The RLC woodcraft group made 269 kits!) Our campers will have a great time building and decorating the fabulous woodcraft kits this summer. – Jeff Mohler, Program Director, LDM

✿ Early this fall there will be a special event for our church women. It will include a discussion of the first and last books of the Narnia series by C.S.Lewis. Won’t you please put these books, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Last Battle on your summer reading list and then come out for a very special event.

✿ The summer bible study for daytime Women of RLC group will be based on the studies included in the Lutheran Woman Today magazine. A copy is available in the church library for review prior to meeting at 10am June 2, July 7 and Aug. 4. Global Mission project activity to follow, for those interested. Other circles for women to be formed as their interests are revealed.

✿ The Women of ELCA’s 6^th Triennial Gathering, July 5-10, 2005 in San Antonio, Texas invites you to attend for special workshops, bible study, lectures, inspiration and fellowship on the theme “Act Boldly.” Information is posted on the bulletin board outside the Church Office. Call Pat Hamby at 889-0219 for details.

Come cheer-on our RLC Softball Team which plays in a Men’s Church Semi-Competitive League on Monday evenings at Craig Park B & C Diamonds. It’s great fun!