Heritage Lutheran Church is a Bible-believing, Confessional Lutheran Church that proclaims the true Word of God.

February 2024 Newsletter

Heritage Herald – February 2024 Edition

From Pastor’s Desk

The Hymns of the Communion Liturgy

The Sanctus (Latin – Holy, Holy, Holy) ELH page 51, 73, 100.

“Sanctus” is Latin for “holy” (e.g., “sanctification,” “sanctuary”). The Sanctus is part of the church’s traditional communion liturgy and has been called “the most ancient, the most celebrated, and the most universal of Christian hymns” (Luther Reed, The Lutheran Liturgy, 313-14).

The Sanctus has been used in every branch of the church as far back as liturgical historians can trace. It is undoubtedly part of the oldest liturgical tradition. Several very early church fathers, such as Clement of Rome (died about 104), Tertullian (died about 220), Origen (died 254), Serapion (died 360), Athanasius (died 373), Cyril of Jerusalem (died 373), and John Chrysostom (died 407) make reference to it. M. F. Sadler claims the Sanctus must be apostolic in origin. If the apostles desired congregations to take part in the Divine Service, they must have established some basic forms of worship such as the Sanctus.

The Sanctus comes within the beginning of the Communion liturgy, expressing the believer’s awe and wonder at being in the presence of the Almighty God in the Communion.   The Sanctus is a quote of Isaiah’s vision of heaven in Isaiah 6:3, echoed in Revelation 4:8.

The Agnus Dei (Latin, Lamb of God” ELH page 55, 79, 103.

Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the “Lamb of God” is honored within Christian liturgies descending from the historic Latin liturgical tradition, including those of Roman CatholicismLutheranism and Anglicanism. It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and is the name given to the musical pieces that accompany the text of this prayer. The use of the title “Lamb of God” in liturgy is based on John 1:29, in which St. John the Baptist, upon seeing Jesus, proclaims “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”  The Agnus Dei is found in the liturgy of the Church as far back as 657 a.d.

The Nunc Dimittis (Latin, Now Dismiss Us, “Lord, now you let your servant depart in peace…) ELH page 81,

The Nunc dimittis, also known as the Song of Simeon or the Canticle of Simeon, is a canticle taken from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 29 through 32. Its Latin name comes from the opening words of the Latin translation of the passage, meaning “Now you let depart”. Since the 4th century it has been used in Christian services, including the Communion and evening worship such as ComplineVespers, and Evensong.  In the Communion liturgy the Nunc Dimittis comes after the Communion distribution, providing a beautiful, scriptural, expression of Christian comfort, peace, and readiness to depart and be with the Lord, having beheld the body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper.

 

Treasurer Update

FY24 January Financial Summary

Financial summary

Council Updates

Membership and Financial Updates

Director Reports

In reach – The Christmas Program was well received. Efforts from program directors Jodi and Katie are very much appreciated.

Spiritual Oversight – Membership changes and patterns for the year 2023 were reviewed. The process for Synod Board Nominations was reviewed. Phil Holz, Chan Smith, and Dave Paulsen were nominated for synodical boards.  Synod convention delegates for summer of 2024 were discussed.  Steve Cook was nominated for Spiritual Oversight Director to replace Bruce Voigt for the rest of this term, and the Council approved that appointment.  Bruce Voigt plans to remain as a member of the Board of Elders as his health allows.

School Board – Mrs. Lehne’s call is being reassigned so she will become the kindergarten -second grade classroom. We have begun looking for a replacement for Mrs. Lehne’s preschool classroom. The School Board approved a 14-16% tuition rate increase for the next academic year.

Outreach – no report

Properties – The flooring project has been completed and the coloration will match with the sanctuary over time.  The final design for the entryway project will be in this week.

Treasurer – Halfway through the fiscal year, we are ahead of plan from a church and school operating perspective (both operating revenue and expenses). Through 6-months operating losses were ($16,582) vs. a plan of ($23,416). Additionally, debt reduction fund revenues through the year are in excess of plan as well. This is encouraging, as we are ahead of plan, but also a stark reminder that we still have some work to do to get to a long-term sustainable solution.

Chairman– The annual insurance evaluation is underway.

TLC/Office– The Seminary Gift program went well. 5 plants (with personal visits) have been delivered to shut ins.  Ladies also served the advent suppers. The Sons of Norway have paid their rent through May. TLC gave a gift to Pastor for Pastor Appreciation Day.

Board of Elders Update – 

New Heritage Members for 2023

Once again, we highlight who is new here at Heritage.  You will notice that our age demographic went down slightly again with the Baptisms of six children. (The month listed reflects the month that Council took official action)

Londyen Mears           Baptism           February

Candace Rynders       Profession of Faith      March

Harper A. Korstad       Baptism           June

Jacob Smith                Adult Confirmation      August

Weston Flemming       Baptism           September

Edmond Peltier*          Baptism           November

Gabriel Peltier*           Baptism           November

Andrew Henkemeyer  Adult Confirmation      December

Declan Yaeger            Baptism           December

* The Peltiers’ parents are not members.  All infants baptized at Heritage are considered a baptized member of the congregation and are thus enrolled in the Heritage Cradle Roll and are on the official membership roster maintained in the office computer.  They, and their parents, receive age-appropriate communication from the office every six months via the cradle roll until the child reaches four years old.  This gives Heritage congregation and its various boards and committees the opportunity to reach out to the parents.  They are encouraged to continue the spiritual nourishing of the young Child of God by enrolling them in Sunday School or our pre-school program.  This is also quite an opportunity for evangelizing the non-member/unchurched parents.  Pray that God opens these opportunities for us, and we follow through.

Bruce Voigt

Spiritual Oversight – Board of Elders

Heritage Lutheran School Grades K-2 Update

We are excited to announce that Mrs. Teresa Lehne has accepted a reassignment from her role as preschool teacher to become our new K-2 teacher. Teresa is an ideal candidate for this position as she has previously taught in both kindergarten and second grade classrooms and has some multigrade classroom experience as well. She knows our program well, has existing relationships with many of our prospective families and, being currently present at Heritage school, will be able to actively recruit for our K-2 program. What a blessing it is that she is willing to accept this new and exciting challenge!
You may be wondering why there is no voters’ meeting to call Teresa for this new position. The simple answer is that a call is extended to someone to serve a congregation in a teaching or ministerial role. Teresa is currently called to serve Heritage, and it is up to the school board to decide in what capacity she will serve. Teresa expressed a desire to take on the new role, and the school board moved to make it so.
You may also be wondering what this change does to the preschool. This question doesn’t yet have an answer. The school board, teachers and council will diligently work to come up with a plan. We will move quickly to ensure our preschool is fully staffed and will keep you all in the loop as this work progresses.
It is now official! Heritage will have a PreK-2 school for the 2024-25 school year! Tell your friends, neighbors and family, and let’s do our best to make sure Teresa’s classroom is full!
Thank you all for your prayers, suggestions, and support over the last 12-15 months. Our work isn’t done, but having our teacher in place has overcome one of our biggest challenges.
John LaSalle & Dusty Balliet
School Board Directors
Dave Paulsen
Congregational President

TLC – The Ladies’ Connection

The Ladies’ Connection will meet on Saturday, February 10th, at 10:30 a.m.

Adult Bible Study Opportunities

Women’s Bible Study. 

The Monday night Bible class meets in person on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in the Heritage fellowship hall. We are studying of Ecclesiastes. Contact Ruth B. with questions or to info on joining virtually.

Men’s Bible Study

The Men’s Thursday Morning Bible Class is studying 1 Kings and meets at church on Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m.

Members Helping Members

Greetings from Members Helping Members,
We help with rides to doctors’ appointments, limited help with car repairs, meals, or any other help someone may need. This month we supplied several meals to two families in need. Please contact Pastor or myself if you need any help. If you would like to help on this committee, please contact me.
Thank you,
Barb Oachs

Brad Oachs Memorial Ice Fishing Event

Save the date – February  24th from Noon – 3 pm, for the 2nd Annual Brad Oachs Ice Fishing Memorial. Click the link below for more information.

Brad Oachs Ice Fishing Memorial

Companions in Prayer 

My Prayer Story:

How are you when it comes to waiting?  “Wait a minute.”  “Wait for me.”  My nephew was recently called for jury duty and his description of the experience was laced with “and then we waited”.  It was boring.  My furnace stopped working yesterday and today I am waiting for someone from CenterPoint Energy to come and fix it.  I had to change a number of appointments just to wait at home all day.  Frustrating!  Most places of business have a “waiting room” because you have to wait your turn.  Sometimes waiting can be exciting – waiting for the birth of a child, waiting for your favorite cookie to come out of the oven or waiting for a special event.  You can think of a hundred things that are examples of waiting.  Waiting implies that if we wait we will get something that we are hoping for.

The Bible has a great deal to say about waiting.  In Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the Lord;  Be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart;  Wait I say on the Lord.”  And again in Psalm 37:7  “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him….”  In Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many  To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”  Waiting requires patience.  In James1:2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”   Let our prayer be as the Psalmist says (Psalm 130:5)  “ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.  My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning–Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.”

Congregation Prayer Suggestions: 

Intercessory prayer – prayers on the behalf of others – are 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.

The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine fill our TV screens every day.  Destruction and devastation seem to reign, but remember God is in control.

Pray for the Heritage family members who are facing serious adversity, especially those facing critical illness.

Serving in February

February Greeters                                          March Greeters

2/4 – Arehart                                                   3/3 – T. Oachs

2/11 – L. Leary/B. Oachs                                3/10 – Henkemeyer

2/18 – Reedstrom                                            3/17 – Salava

2/25 – Remus                                                    3/24 – A. Schmidt

3/31 – Siewert

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!

February Ushers & Acolytes

2/4 – 8:00 – Dave Paulsen, Jef Sutton/Cooper Sickmann

10:30 – Steve Cook, Dan Schwanz/Josiah Mears

2/11 – 8:00 – Jacob Calhoun, Bruce Reedstrom/Ushers

10:30 – Jesse & Fischer Chapman/Ushers

2/14 – (Ash Wednesday) – Micah Steward, Chris Nikoley/Ushers

2/18 – 8:00 – Larry Sickmann, Kevin Henricks/Jaycen Steward

10:30 – Josh Mears, Phil Holz/Josiah Mears

2/21 – (Wednesday) – Tim Oachs, Bruce Voigt

2/25 – 8:00 – Nathaniel Reedstrom, Nicholas Henricks/Ushers

10:30 am – Fischer Chapman, Elijah Cook/Ushers

2/28 – (Wednesday) – Dave Paulsen, Larry Sickmann

February Recording

2/4 – Stan Miller

2/11 – Martin Paulsen

2/14 – Libby Paulsen

2/18 – Stan Miller

2/21 – Martin Paulsen

2/25 – Libby Paulsen

2/28 – Stan Miller

February Altar Guild

Hannah Anderson

February Fellowship

2/4 – Holz

2/11 – Open

2/18 – Open

2/25 – Open

February Birthdays

1 Jodi Nikoley

5 Jesse Chapman

7 Brenda Oachs

9 Alison Paulsen

10 David Robb

16 Penny Kammer

17 Kevin Henricks

20 Dianne Boldt

21 Ryan Blom

26 Keaton Arehart

February Calendar 

February-2024-Calendar