Heritage Herald – March 2025 Edition
From Pastor’s Desk
Lent Midweek Theme: “Foreshadows of Christ”
Symbols of the coming Messiah from the Old Testament.
The theme for our Lent Midweek services this year is “Foreshadows of Christ.” The texts I have selected to preach on are only a drop in the bucket of that theme in the Old Testament. In fact you could say that the entire Old Testament is a foreshadowing of Christ. Every character, prophet, judge, or patriarch exhibited qualities of the promised Messiah. And yet at the same time, being sinful human beings, they also exhibited the influence of the tempter and his wickedness. All the famous characters of the Old Testament pointed forward to the coming Son of God, Savior of the world. But none of them was the Savior. The good they may have accomplished was fulfilled ten-fold in Christ. The sin they fell into was 100% avoided by Jesus Christ. Through the centuries and millennia of Old Testament history God was training his people and building a national, religious consciousness of who and what the promised Savior would be. The victories won by the Old Testament heroes of the faith would be eclipsed by the victory of Christ in his cross and resurrection. The qualities and attributes they displayed in incomplete, fuzzy, not quite fully developed form would be displayed to the world in absolute completeness and perfection in Christ. From Adam to Herod all should have recognized the coming of Jesus Christ as Son of God, Savior of the world. But not all did so recognize him. Many rejected Jesus. Some, when they listened to his teaching, even tried to kill him!
Today our world has not only the Old Testament foreshadowing of Christ but also the New Testament record and witness of Christ’s accomplishment of mankind’s salvation. Yet only a few recognize their Lord and Savior as having come in Jesus Christ. Few know him, acknowledge him, trust in him, and follow him in our world today. We are blessed to have in our hands and hearts the full, complete Word of God. In it we can find and learn all that we need to know for salvation and eternal life. We grow in Faith as we grow in knowing and understanding God’s Word. We grow close to God by becoming more intimate in His wisdom in the Word. We know our Savior, but we can know him better, deeper, and more completely. I hope our special midweek services will aid you in that.
Pastor Anderson
Midweek Lent 2025, Wednesdays 6:30 pm Vespers
Wed March 5 – Ash Wednesday, Vespers with Communion (following the ELH ILCW “C” Lectionary, page 201) “A Life of Humility Before God” – Matt 6:1-6;16-21
Wed March 12, “Adam’s Fall and God’s Great Promise (Gen 3:1-15; Romans 5:12-21)
Wed March 19, “Noah and the Great Flood” (Genesis 6:5-8;7:1-24; 1 Peter 3:20-22)
Wed March 26, “Abraham, The Great Patriarch of Israel.” (Genesis 12:1-5a; 22:1-14; John 3:16-18)
Wed April 2, Joseph and God’s Great Plan” (Genesis 37: 1-4; 12-14, 18-28; 45:4-11)
Wed April 9, “Moses, the Great Deliverer of Israel” (Ex 2:23-25; 3:1-12)
Thurs April 17, Maundy Thursday. “Jesus, the Fulfillment of the Passover” (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb 10:15-39; Luke 22:7-20)
Friday April 18 – Good Friday, “The Bronze serpent.” (Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14,15)
FY25 Financial Summary
FY25 January Financial Summary
Council Update
DIRECTOR REPORTS:
Inreach
- Sunday school had 3 total student this week – could be weather related
- Some teens prefer Adult Bible Study
- Men’s Easter brunch is in the planning
Spiritual Oversight
- Attendance in teen (in particular) Sunday school (although had been thin already) and adult Bible class has been reduced since the Saturday service has been introduced.
- Will continue to monitor
- Steve will communicate with the Board of Elders and the congregation of what we’re seeing so far (and the importance of attending)
School Board
- Low open house turnout this year.
- Some hesitancy for 1st/2nd grade.
- Math & Science Night is March 6. It was suggested that we have an info table from Outreach set up at this event. Registration does tick up a bit after that.
Outreach
- The board would like to proceed with the synod program “Every Member Outreach” as presented by Rev. Kerkow.
- Open gym has not been well attended. Micah is going to go to an every Sunday format to see if more regularity helps.
Properties
- Circuit board was out in the gym furnace, but it is fixed.
- The flat roof over the office is scheduled to be redone.
- The leak in the Narthex will be fixed in the spring.
Treasurer
- Expenditures doc were shared last week for areas to review
Chairman
- Continue meeting with Jodi weekly and making progress
- School board may need assistance with the employee handbook
- Math and Science flyers need to be addressed as well
TLC/Office
- Synod report is done
Adult Bible Study Opportunities
Women’s Bible Study.
Men’s Bible Study
The Men’s Thursday Morning Bible Class meets at 9:00 a.m. in the fellowship hall.
Heritage Choir
Choir rehearsal is on Wednesdays starting at 7 pm. New members are always welcome! Please contact Julie Wright or Klaudia Calhoun with any questions.
Member Directory
Here is the Heritage Picture Directory 2025. If you would like to update your family photo, please see Katie Henricks in the Narthex either before or after the service during the next several Sundays. If you have a family photo that you would like us to use, please submit it to Katie Henricks at katie.henricks@heritagelutheran.org.
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. 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.
Members Helping Members
TLC – The Ladies’ Connection
The Ladies’ Connection will meet on Saturday, March 8th at 10:00 a.m. All women of the congregation are invited! TLC will be serving the Lenten Supper on March 5th. The service for Jef Sutton is scheduled for March 15th. We don’t know the time, but help may be needed, so please watch for updates.
Companions in Prayer
My Prayer Story
Below is a “tool” that is shared with Companions in Prayer during their training session. It is one that may be helpful to you as well.
Praying Hands
As you fold your hands in prayer, use your thumb and fingers to remind you of how to pray.
Your THUMB is nearest to you. Begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C.S. Lewis once said, “a sweet duty.”
The POINTING FINGER is next. Pray for those who teach, instruct, and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and pastors. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
The next finger is the TALLEST FINGER. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for local, state and national leaders: the President, Congress, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God’s guidance.
The fourth finger is our RING FINGER. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher can testify. It reminds us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.
Lastly, is our LITTLE FINGER, the smallest finger of all. This is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, “The least shall be the greatest among you.” Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into perspective, and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.
Source: The Internet, Author Unknown
Acronyms to Help You Pray
ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication
PRAY: Praise, Repent, Ask for Others, and Yourself
TSP: Thanks, Sorry, Please
Source is unknown
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 those who are suffering loss of property, loss of life and face a lengthy period of recovery, especially Pastor Micah Ernst and his wife, Claudia who recent lost their home and all their belongings to a house fire.
- We have lost several members of the Heritage family in the past couple of weeks. We know the they are not truly lost, but are now seated at God’s heavenly table. Pray for comfort and peace in the resurrection for their families.
Serving in March
Click the link –> Greeter Calendar
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!
March Ushers & Acolytes
Click the link –> Usher Acolyte Calendar
March Recording
3/2 – Stan Miller
3/9 – Libby Paulsen
3/16 – Stan Miller
3/23 – Martin Paulsen
3/30 – Stan Miller
March Altar Guild
Shirley Schwanz/Hannah Anderson
March Fellowship
3/2 – Natvig
3/9 – Lehne
3/16 – Open
3/23 – Open
3/30 – Open
March Birthdays
4 Michelle Chapman
5 Sarah Robb
8 Chan Smith
8 Adam Bobka
10 Shirley Schwanz
14 Jack LaSalle
19 Jeanne Braun
21 Alice Estes
22 Robert Auren
26 Darlene Lansing
26 Jesse Smith