Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church October 2021 Centered in Christ – As One Body with Many Members (and Small Groups!) Pastor Martha Schwehn Bardwell On Sunday October 3, we have the joy of surrounding Eleanor Lau as she is washed in the waters of baptism, sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. And a couple of weeks after that, on October 17, we will gather again to bless Mara Hanlon on her baptism day. What a deep joy it is to get to celebrate and welcome these children of God as the promises of God drench them with unconditional love and grace! These baptisms will be different than pre-pandemic baptisms. Eleanor’s baptism will be outside in the backyard at the 9am service– our first outdoor baptism! As I write this, Mary and I are still figuring out what to use as a font. As we sing “Love is Flowing,” the squacks, barks and meows of critters brought for the day’s Blessing of the Animals will add surprising harmonies to our human song. Mara’s baptism, while still being planned, will likely be at the 10:30 indoor service. Masks and physical distancing will be practiced to ensure good public health, and around the font, these practices will serve as visible reminders, both of the vulnerability and risks involved in human life – vulnerability and risks that are always held in and supported by God’s promises and grace - as well as the call to love and serve our neighbors in embodied ways – a call that binds us together as we live out our baptismal identities. Another difference about these baptisms is that we can’t all gather together to be part of them. In these days as the pandemic drags on, and we eagerly wait for our members under 12 years old to be vaccinated, we persist faithfully together and yet as a somewhat fragmented community. Some of us attend the 9am worship service; some of us attend the 10:30. Some of us join in person and some online. Some of us have lost the habit of attending worship at all. And yet – the same Spirit that blesses Eleanor and Mara – the Spirit of wisdom and joy in God’s presence – never loses its grip on our lives, but rather moves among us and in us, binding us together into the body of Christ across all divisions for the sake of the world. One way to stay connected, to remain centered in Christ, and to nurture our baptismal callings in community is to be part of a small group at OSLC. We have various small groups already going on! Over the years, we have discovered that it seems to work better for groups to organically form out of members’ desires than it does for staff or committees to design them. Here is a ‘nudge’ from MCFF (Ministry of Community and Faith Formation) for you to find your place. If you’d like to be part of any of these groups, or start your own, please contact the folks listed below or Pastor Martha ([email protected]). Continued next page
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Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church October 2021
Centered in Christ – As One Body with Many Members (and
Small Groups!) Pastor Martha Schwehn Bardwell
On Sunday October 3, we have the joy of surrounding Eleanor Lau as she is washed in the waters of baptism, sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. And a couple of weeks after that, on October 17, we will gather again to bless Mara Hanlon on her baptism day. What a deep joy it is to get to celebrate and welcome these children of God as the promises of God drench them with unconditional love and grace!
These baptisms will be different than pre-pandemic baptisms. Eleanor’s baptism will be outside in the backyard at the 9am service– our first outdoor baptism! As I write this, Mary and I are still figuring out what to use as a font. As we sing “Love is Flowing,” the squacks, barks and meows of critters brought for the day’s Blessing of the Animals will add surprising harmonies to our human song. Mara’s baptism, while still being planned, will likely be at the 10:30 indoor service. Masks and physical distancing will be practiced to ensure good public health, and around the font, these practices will serve as visible reminders, both of the vulnerability and risks involved in human life – vulnerability and risks that are always held in and supported by God’s promises and grace - as well as the call to love and serve our neighbors in embodied ways – a call that binds us together as we live out our baptismal identities.
Another difference about these baptisms is that we can’t all gather together to be part of them. In these days as the pandemic drags on, and we eagerly wait for our members under 12 years old to be vaccinated, we persist faithfully together and yet as a somewhat fragmented community. Some of us attend the 9am worship service; some of us attend the 10:30. Some of us join in person and some online. Some of us have lost the habit of attending worship at all. And yet – the same Spirit that blesses Eleanor and Mara – the Spirit of wisdom and joy in God’s presence – never loses its grip on our lives, but rather moves among us and in us, binding us together into the body of Christ across all divisions for the sake of the world.
One way to stay connected, to remain centered in Christ, and to nurture our baptismal callings in community is to be part of a small group at OSLC. We have various small groups already going on! Over the years, we have discovered that it seems to work better for groups to organically form out of members’ desires than it does for staff or committees to design them. Here is a ‘nudge’ from MCFF (Ministry of Community and Faith Formation) for you to find your place. If you’d like to be part of any of these groups, or start your own, please contact the folks listed below or Pastor Martha ([email protected]).
Continued next page
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church October 2021
Faith and Feminism – Faith and Feminism meets about once a month. After taking a summer break, we are planning to gather on Sunday, October 24 at 3pm for an in person, outdoor gathering. Please contact Deb Swenson-Klatt ([email protected]) to be added to the email list and learn more about this and other upcoming gatherings.
Men’s Breakfast – Men’s breakfast meets at Butter Bakery Café once a month. I’m not sure if they also meet on Zoom or not. If you’re interested in learning more about this group, contact Dan Swenson-Klatt ([email protected]).
Wednesday Bible Study – Wednesday Bible Study meets every week on Zoom from 10:15am – noon.
We begin by sharing prayer concerns and thanksgivings, and then we read the Scripture texts for the upcoming Sunday service, bringing each one into conversation with our lives as we listen for how God is calling us today. To join bible study, contact Pastor Martha or Mary Preus.
OSLC Choir – Make a joyful noise! OSLC choir is always accepting new members. Just show up to a Wednesday evening rehearsal or a Sunday morning rehearsal before singing at the 10:30 service. To learn more, contact Mary Preus ([email protected]).
ISAIAH Core Team – The ISAIAH core team stays active building power and organizing for racial, economic and environmental justice in Minnesota with ecumenical and interfaith partners. They meet about once a month. For more information, contact Paula Keller ([email protected]) or David Scheie ([email protected]).
Reparations Book Study – A book study of From Here to Equality is underway, with the first session on
September 30. We meet every-other week on Thursdays for several weeks this fall. If you would like to jump in on this Zoom offering, please email Paul Batalden ([email protected]).
Young Adults Group - The young adults group meets here and there for fellowship with each other. To learn more, contact Linnea Peterson ([email protected]).
Chicago Avenue Garden Work Group – A small group has been tending the community garden on Chicago Avenue in the growing seasons of 2020 and 2021. We have been meeting to do work at the garden on Mondays from 10-12, with a femme-led neighborhood work day on Thursdays from 11-1. To get involved, email Rico Morales [email protected].
Called to Care for Creation - Called to Care for Creation (CCC) will be an opportunity to gather around
issues related to climate change and creation care, to keep up to date on what is happening in this regard, to pray and lament together, and to be intentional about taking concrete action towards a more flourishing creation. It will be a time to nurture one another in hope as we answer God’s call to care for all that God has made. This is a new, emerging group – to learn more, contact Rebekah Fergus ([email protected]).
We have other opportunities beyond worship this month as well, which you will learn about as you continue
to read this Sentinel issue. In this season, may our roots continue to stretch ever deeper into the fathomless
love of God in Christ, and may we find ourselves filled and strengthened for loving service to one another
9:00 Backyard Worship- join us in person 10:30 Worship in the Sanctuary- join us in person or on Facebook.
Call the office at 612-871-2967 to reserve your spot in the sanctuary for the 10:30 worship.
Worship Folders
To get your worship folder, go to oursavioursmpls.org and find it under the Worship, Music and Arts tab.
First Wednesday Zoom Prayer
Rest in the Spirit with Word, Song, Prayer, Silence, Each Other
Join us for contemplative prayer at 7pm on Wednesday, October 6. We will share in a simple service of Scrip-ture, prayer and song. It will be a time to pause from our busy days to be centered in Christ.
On October 20, we are going to enjoy some community connection time together. From 4:30-5:30, pick up a community meal ‘to go’ made by our amazing cook, April Smith, or have one delivered to your doorstep from volunteer deliverers. We are not charging for the meals, but we would appreciate donations from members to cover some of the cost. Then, from 6:30 – 7:30, enjoy a Zoom Wednesday Connections time for conversation together. We’ll have time to pray together, read Scripture, or otherwise get centered in Christ, and then we’ll have time to simply connect and check in as a community.
Sign up for a meal HERE – https://forms.gle/CGqJVzhnrptonQd99
Fall is upon us and our church and the grounds are in need of atten-
tion. Volunteers are needed to assist with inside and outside work
projects to maintain and improve our worship and social areas.
Please bring gloves if you intend to work on outdoor projects, and
plan to wear a mask for any inside work. Please come to the church
on Saturday October 9th from 10-12. We are looking forward to see-
ing you and sprucing up the corner of 24th and Chicago together! In order to plan for snacks and jobs to do,
please email Nancy at [email protected] if you intend to come, but still come even if you don’t let us know
ahead of time.
The Property Committee
Community Emergency Service (CES) Update
CES, our neighborhood food shelf, is once again able to operate utilizing
their client-choice model. This means that clients get to “shop” for the foods
they enjoy and that are best for their individual/family’s needs. Until recent-
ly (due to COVID) clients were given standardized bags of groceries
(general or specific for various ethnic groups) and were not able to enter the
building. However, curbside pick-up is still available for those not ready for
indoor visits to the food shelf.
• Help restock the shelves by donating items from the list. Donations can be dropped off in the coat room. • Jar spaghetti sauce • Baked beans • Pork n’ Beans • Canned Carrots • Canned Peas • Can Diced Tomatoes • Can Beef Stew • Canned Meat (tuna, salmon, sardines) • Black tea bags (plain) • Dry lentils
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church October 2021
Current Parable Amy Blumenshine While the headlines may have shifted, some of us are still weeping over the tragedy of the American war
against Afghanistan. There’s a lot of loss and ongoing suffering to lament related to the wealthiest nation in
the world bombing the poorest nation in the world for over 20 years. As the US military withdrawal was news,
the veterans support network became alerted that some post 9/11 veterans might be particularly suicidal. We
don’t yet have the data but we do have reason to believe that self-inflicted deaths are related to moral injury,
the violation of deeply held principles and beliefs. We also have reason to believe that collectively, we share
the impact of moral injury.
One of our leading Lutheran theologians, Rev. Dr. Kelly Denton-Borhaug, professor at Monrovian University,
published a couple of articles recently in TomDispatch.com. She has collaborated with the Coming Home
Collaborative (!) over the years as we’ve pressed for better understanding of the suffering experienced by too
many veterans and their families. In these articles, she dives deeply into understanding the American blindness
regarding military harm, including raising a parable. {https://tomdispatch.com/a-parable-of-all-american-
violence/ and https://tomdispatch.com/moral-injury-and-the-forever-wars/, please note that the editors of
TomDispatch.com preamble each article.}
She writes: “The unending violence of our war culture became a kind of security blanket, money in the bank.
Few protested the outlandish Pentagon budgets overwhelmingly approved by Congress each year, even as
defeats in distant lands multiplied. Violence would protect us; it would save us. We couldn’t stockpile enough
of it, or the weapons that made it possible, or use it more liberally around the globe — and increasingly at
home as well.” Sadly, just last week, despite supposedly ending wars, Congress yet again has increased the
Pentagon budget, defeating amendments that sought to shift spending to domestic needs.
The Moravian University professor notes “Philosophers know that such violence almost invariably turns out to
be grounded in inequality and so sharply conflicts with this country’s most basic values, especially the idea
that human beings are equal. To act violently against the other, people must believe that the object of violence
is somehow less worthy, of less value than themselves.” How could this not be part of our own
neighborhood’s self-destruction?
May we claim our authority as Christians and moral agents to repudiate these suicidal delusions and policies.
Faiths 4 Climate Justice - Monday, Oct 18
Faith and spiritual communities around the globe are showing up on October 18th for Faiths 4 Climate Justice,
a massive day of action demanding world leaders act more boldly on climate justice ahead of the Glasgow UN
Climate Talks in November.
As part of this action, Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light (MNIPL) is hosting a multi-faith prayer gathering
for federal climate action. Join us at noon at the entrance to the Federal Building in downtown Minneapolis
(212 3rd Ave S Minneapolis). Through song, prayer, meditation, and silence, we will make a public stand for
federal climate action. Afterwards, we’ll gather for lunch at a nearby park across the Stone Arch Bridge.
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church October 2021
Friday, Oct 1 7am Men’s Breakfast at Butter Café and on Zoom
Sunday, Oct 3 9:00am Outdoor Worship– OSLC Backyard 10:30am Worship in person and on Facebook in the Sanctuary Monday, Oct 4 7-8:30 Church Council Meeting
Tuesday, Oct 5 12:30-2pm Staff Meeting (CR)
Wednesday, Oct 6 10:15-12pm Online Bible Study on Zoom 7-7:30pm First Wednesday Zoom Prayer Saturday, Oct 9 9:00-12pm Property Meeting and Clean Up
Sunday, Oct 10 9:00am Outdoor Worship– OSLC Backyard
10:30am Worship in person and on Facebook in the Sanctuary
Tuesday, Oct 12 12:30-2pm Staff Meeting (CR)
Wednesday, Oct 13 10:15-12pm Online Bible Study on Zoom
Sunday, Oct 17 9:00am Outdoor Worship– OSLC Backyard
10:30am Worship in person and on Facebook in the Sanctuary Monday, Oct 18 12n Faith for Climate Justice Rally at Mpls Federal Building 7-8:30 Racial Justice Committee Meeting Tuesday, Oct 19 12:30-2pm Staff Meeting (CR)
Wed, Oct 20 10:15-12pm Online Bible Study on Zoom
4:30-5:30pm Community Meal To Go
6:30-7:30pm Zoom Community Connections
Sunday, Oct 24 9:00am Outdoor Worship– OSLC Backyard 10:30am Worship in person and on Facebook in the Sanctuary Monday, Oct 25 5-6:30 Finance Committee Meeting
Tuesday, Oct 26 Sentinel Deadline 12:30-2pm Staff Meeting (CR)
Wed, Sept 27 10:15-12pm Online Bible Study on Zoom Sunday, Oct 31 9:00am Outdoor Worship– OSLC Backyard 10:30am Worship in person and on Facebook in the Sanctuary
October 2021 at Our Saviour’s
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church October 2021
Lectionary Text for
Home Devotions
The Sentinel Vol. LX, No. 10 is published by
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church. 2315 Chicago Ave
Minneapolis MN 55404
Deadline for the November Sentinel is Tuesday, October 26 at 9am!
October 3 Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 8 Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 Mark 10:2-16
October 10 Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 Psalm 90:12-17 Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31
October 17 Isaiah 53:4-12 Psalm 91:9-16 Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45
October 24 Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm 126 Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 10:46-52
October 31
Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalm 46 Romans 3:19-28 John 8:31-36
How to Reach Us
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
2315 Chicago Ave
Minneapolis MN 55404
612-871-2967
oursavioursmpls.org Pastor:
Martha Schwehn Bardwell option 4
Music Director:
Mary Preus option 6
Bookkeeper: Diane Palmer option 5
Office Manager:
Alexander Farino ` option 7
OSCS
612-871-5900 Interim Executive Director:
David Fey option 1
Executive Director: Michael Hoffman option 1
Prayer List
Paul Rogers
Diane Rowe
Rachel Ackland
Anton Moore
Kelly Lewis
Luke, Jacentia, David, and Mateo (Karen Winan’s family
members sick with Covid-19)
Congratulations to Tezra and Scott Osthus on the birth of their