Heritage Herald – August 2024 Edition
From Pastor’s Desk
Faith And Football
According to recent polls, NFL football continues as the most popular spectator sport in America, as it has for each of the last forty years. To devotees, understanding the sport is as natural as breathing. But to the uninitiated, American football seems an incredibly complicated, confusing, incomprehensible thing.
The knowledge a person must acquire to understand and appreciate football is mind-boggling when you stop to think about it. For example, you have to learn the various player positions, like center, quarterback, halfback, fullback, guard, tackle, end, safety, linebacker, wide receiver, and tight end.
You have to understand the playing field and all those lines and marks. There are end lines, goal lines, side lines, 50-yard line, hash marks, end zones, and red zones.
You have to learn the names of offensive and defensive moves and plays, like hike, pass, hand-off, rush, punt, place-kick, free-kick, tackle, interception, pass completion, pass incompletion, sack, blitz, touchdown, first down, field goal, and safety. On top of that there are myriad offensive and defensive formations and strategies.
You will need to learn the rules, together with the penalties for violating the rules: Clipping, roughing the kicker, roughing the passer, encroachment, facemask, delay of game, illegal formation, false start, illegal motion, ineligible receiver, chop-block, piling on, unnecessary roughness, taunting, to name just a few. In fact the NFL website lists at least 89 separate penalties for violations of the rules. On top of that, to understand which infraction is being called by a referee, you must learn the thirty-nine official hand/body signals used to indicate the nature of the penalty.
And I haven’t even touched on learning the history, records, and statistics. Think of all the football traditions and behavioral oddities— tailgating, cheese-heads, Viking hats, terrible towels, team colors, logos, mascots, body/face painting, team songs, choruses, and slogans.
In spite of the incredible complexity of the sport, even young children learn it and love it. 123.7 million viewers, watched the 2024 Super Bowl, making it the most watched event in American TV history. (Nielson, Feb 2024.)
Enjoying and appreciating any sport, art, or hobby requires an investment of time and effort in learning and understanding it. Why would anyone expect something as serious as worship or Biblical doctrine to require anything less? From time to time I hear the baffling criticism that our worship is “too hard to follow,” or our teachings are “too complicated.” I have heard that criticism sometimes from highly educated and accomplished teachers, engineers, and business professionals. Fascinating! They possessed the intelligence and discipline to attain advanced, post-graduate degrees, and, inexplicably, they were capable of learning all the nuances of football, golf, opera, ballet, and bridge, but they can’t get their minds around our order of worship or the elements of Christian doctrine?
Understanding and appreciating Christian worship and Biblical doctrine takes time and effort. Make that investment, and you will be richly rewarded. Faith is no game! This is your life. This is getting right with your God. This is about spiritual battle. This is about growing as a person. This is receiving God’s gifts and blessings for this life. This is about God’s blessings in your life now. This is about where you will spend eternity.
– Pastor KJ Anderson
Installation, School Kick-Off & Potluck
Mark your calendars for Sunday, August 25th. We will have installation of our new preschool teacher, MaKenna Adsit, during the 9:00 worship service. Our kindergarten starts on Monday, August 26th and preschool will start September 4th & 5th, so this will serve as our kick-off to the school year as well. We will have a potluck meal with lots of time for fellowship as we welcome our newest teacher, MaKenna.
Sunday School
Fall Food Truck Event
The Outreach board is planning a Food Truck Night in early September. Stay tuned for more information and details on what has become a very fun fellowship event for not only Heritage, but also for our school and the Apple Valley community.
FY24 June Financial Summary
Council Update
TLC – The Ladies’ Connection
The Ladies’ Connection will take a break for the summer.
Member Photo Directory
The photo directory is in the process of being updated. If you have a recent picture that you would like us to use, please send it to Katie & Kevin Henricks – 2k2nhenricks@charter.net
Adult Bible Study Opportunities
Women’s Bible Study.
Men’s Bible Study
The Men’s Thursday Morning Bible Class is taking a break for the summer and will return in the fall.
Volunteer Opportunities Around the Church
Once again the Property Board is requesting Heritage members to volunteer to clean the Narthex, Sanctuary and gym on a weekly basis, beginning the week of August 26th. Please consider helping to keep our church looking nice by signing up on the volunteer board. The Sanctuary takes about 1 1/4 hours, the Narthex 1 1/4 hours, and the gym 20 minutes. Questions: contact Ruth B. for details and instructions.
The rose bushes near the school entrance (white doors) are in need of being trimmed and sprayed for Japanese beetles. Please contact Ruth B. or Jesse Chapman if you can assist.
Members Helping Members
Companions in Prayer
My Prayer Story
As I write this, the Olympics are just about to begin. I have seen many stories about individuals
who have trained for years for the opportunity to participate. They have sacrificed much along
the way. They are good examples of what it means to “give it your all” and “don’t give up”.
They are seeking The Prize – the gold medal. We need to apply that zeal and dedication to our
spiritual lives.
St. Paul writes in 1Corinthians 9:24-25
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize. Run in
such a way that you may obtain it.
And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain
a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.”
Sometimes it seems like a daunting task to keep our spiritual health strong in the face of all the
we have to contend with. We must turn to God’s Word for comfort and strength.
Isaiah 40:28-31
“Have you not heard: The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary; and the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings
like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
May we take comfort, peace and strength in this, God’s Word.
Isaiah 41:13
“For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you ‘Fear not, I will help you’.”
Congregation Prayer Suggestions:
Intercessory prayer – prayers on the behalf of others – is a part of a Christian’s life. If you have a
request for Companions in Prayer at Heritage to pray for you or someone you know, please
contact Alice Schmidt, Pastor Anderson or the Office.
Each of you have a list of those you pray for, but consider adding these to it.
Pray for the older members of our congregation, many of which are facing health problems,
memory problems, mobility difficulties and changes in their living arrangements.
Many in other parts of our country are experiencing severe heat and uncontrolled fires. Pray for
the safety of all and that God will bring these disasters under control.
Continue to pray for our country, as violence and political discord at times overshadow the
kindness and blessings that are a part of our lives.
Serving in August
August Greeters
8/4 – Arehart
8/11 – Eisenbeis
8/18 – Braun
8/25 – Reedstrom
Greeter Guidelines
To provide a consistent, friendly, and sincere greeting every Sunday to all members and visitors to Heritage Lutheran Church, guidelines have been developed to help accomplish that goal. Following are some of those guidelines:
- Please mark your calendar for the date you are assigned. The date assigned will be published in the Heritage Newsletter for a two-month period.
- Please be ready to greet no less than 20 minutes before each service for which you have been assigned.
- As you greet visitors, please encourage them to sign our guest book. If there are two people greeting, one of you could escort them to the guest book while the other continues to greet. Ideally you should try to introduce them to another member standing nearby. Sometimes this is difficult to do as the service is starting. In that case, try to chat with them after the service and introduce them to other members after the service.
- Stay at the door until the service is underway; visitors quite often show up late and really need extra help in getting bulletins and a place to sit. Feel free to involve the ushers as needed.
- If you have a chance, get their contact information from the guest book or by asking them for it, and then follow up with a thank you text, email, or note sent to them thanking them for visiting our church. If you inform the church office, they could help with this task.
- If you are unable to greet at both services, please ask someone to fill in for you. If you find out at the last minute, text the following who are willing to help – Remus 651-800-5827, Braun 612-237-1064, Fahning 952-200-2870, Eisenbeis 651-230-4423, Barb Oachs 952-465-5272
- If you have a conflict with the date you were assigned, please contact someone from your month or the next month and trade with them. This helps those doing the scheduling with juggling all the rescheduling. Thank You!
August Ushers & Acolytes
8/4 – 9:00 – Dave Paulsen, Larry Sickmann/Jaycen Steward
8/11 – 9:00 – Kurt Arehart, Jef Sutton/Ushers
8/18– 9:00 – Dan Schwanz, Micah Steward/Josiah Mears
8/25 – 9:00 – Jacob Calhoun, Bruce Reedstrom/Ushers
August Recording
8/4 – Libby Paulsen
8/11 – Stan Miller
8/18 – Stan Miller
8/25 – Martin Paulsen
August Altar Guild
Bonnie Kooy/Barb Oachs
August Fellowship
8/4 – Fahning
8/11 – Judy Tonak
8/18 – Siewerts
8/25 – Potluck
August Birthdays
2 Jason Eisenbeis
5 Luke Oachs
7 Heidi LaSalle
7 Peyton Nikoley
7 Sara Owens
10 Kathryn Yaeger
12 Hannah Henkemeyer
12 Nathan Henricks
14 Eleanor Robb
14 Michael Baldassano
17 Richie Kammer
25 Bonnie Kooy
28 Delaney Arehart