This Week at Esther
THIS WEEK AT ESTHER
NEWS & NOTES
Check out the Esther Calendar on our website to stay up to date on everything happening! Go to estherlutheran.com and click on “Esther Calendar.”
Connect & Reflect: Coffee & Conversation will be held Sundays starting at 9:15 – 9:40 am. We invite you to grab a cup of coffee and join us for a casual Sunday morning chat. Each week, we’ll look back at the Behold devotion sent out the previous Monday morning. Together we’ll share our thoughts, stories, and everyday experiences with that week’s challenge question. Whether you read it on Monday or just want to listen in, you are welcome here as we build our faith and community together!
9th grade Confirmation students will meet October 4th at 11 am. We will be planning your Confirmation worship service, answer any questions, pick out gowns, and run through your faith statements. Please turn in your faith statement to Jewel by October 1st.
Spruce Hill Church Open House is Saturday, October 3rd. The Open House will run 12:00-4:00 pm featuring live music from Brad Lambrecht at 1:00-2:00 pm on the church’s historic reed organ. Come see behind the scenes of the current restoration and repair work at Spruce Hill Church, located at 12553 Ottertail Trail NE, Miltona.
Luther Crest Annual Meeting will be held Saturday, October 10th at 10 am.
26th Annual Domestic Violence Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, October 14th from 11:45 am – 1 pm at the Broadway Ballroom in Alexandria. This annual event brings our community together to raise awareness, support survivors, and remember those whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence. This year’s speaker is Kari Kerr, MA, LPC. She is the Vice President of Prevention, Education and Violence Intervention at the Community Violence Intervention Center in Grand Forks, ND. Kari comes with more than 24 years of experience in victim advocacy, violence prevention, and professional training. Tickets: $25 for individual, $200 for a table of 8. Please let Luella Thom know if you would like to attend.
The Bell Tower is leaking and needs to be repaired. Because of the high reach and difficult area to work with, we do not have an exact idea of cost, but it could surpass $50,000. Please consider helping with this important and much needed repair. Help keep the bell ringing! Please send your donation to the church: 11019 625th Ave Parkers Prairie, MN 56361 or scan the QR code under “Give to Esther Lutheran Church” tab.
Vanco online giving platform is a great way to set up a scheduled giving plan for even when you cannot make it to church. Go online to estherlutheran.com, go to the tab “Give Esther Lutheran Church” and click on the link https://secure.myvanco.com/L-ZP4R or download the app Vanco Mobile Faith Engagement. Any questions please ask Mandy Arvidson.
We welcome you to join in the weekly “Behold the New Has Come” devotions available on our website estherlutheran.com on the “Behold” tab. Devotions are posted to the website and emailed out each Monday. If you are not currently on the email list and want to be, please notify Mandy in the office. Each weekly devotion includes a challenge for the week. This past week’s challenge is:
We all need and want the grace of Jesus Christ. When we acknowledge our sinful nature, and we face sin and temptation with Jesus in our hearts, we are trusting in Christ’s presence in the most difficult of times. When we go to Jesus in prayer, we live a little more like Jesus, and a little less like who the world tells us to be.
We are able to face obstacles in our relationships with mercy, grace, and kindness because the Lord is there to help us. As Matthew tells us, Jesus said, “there I am with them.” Any time you are gathered with more than two this week, remember that Jesus is there with you. We hope these devotions and weekly challenges will inspire conversations and stories that we can share with one another as, together, we grow in faith through this initiative.
WELCA Fall Conference Gathering: Conference 8: October 24th at Grace Lutheran in Brandon, MN. Speaker will be a mother and son from Health Partners from Tanzania. Grace Lutheran supports this mission regularly. Contact Luella Thom for details.
