FELLOWSHIP HALL MEETINGS UPDATE
The first of two informational meetings was held on Sunday, April 23 to give congregational members an opportunity to discuss possible updates to the Fellowship Hall and to obtain feedback and suggestions. (The second meeting will be held on Sunday, May 7 at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.)
Despite the challenging weather that day, the meeting on April 23 was well attended. Tom Weeks presented a summary of ideas that were put together by the small, informal groups that met on February 20 and March 9. These are briefly summarized below. The meeting resulted in several questions and suggestions that will help the Fellowship Hall Update Committee refine the original ideas. Three new ideas were introduced by congregational members in attendance. These include: 1) eliminating the stage to expand the seating area at floor level, 2) installing a new ceiling and new LED lights, and 3) replacing the wooden chairs with modern, lighter weight, padded chairs. At this point, everything is up for consideration and discussion. The Committee welcomes additional input from members before beginning the task of developing a proposal to present to Council. Everyone’s input is important and will be helpful. If you did not attend the first meeting, please try to attend the meeting on May 7. If you attended the meeting on April 23, you are encouraged to also attend the second meeting. An exchange of ideas and discussion can only be beneficial to reach a consensus on this project and move forward.
IDEAS FOR UPDATING THE FELLOWSHIP HALL
•Replace carpet with luxury vinyl wood-grain flooring
Estimated cost: $12,200.00
•Install drywall over concrete block walls and over paneling on both sides of the stage. Install trim
around windows and install baseboard, chair rail and crown molding
Estimated cost: $10,555.00
•Relocate the ice machine to the closet area in the hallway
Estimated cost: $600.00
•Replace old blinds with new 2-inch wide blinds or with plantation shutters
Estimated cost (blinds): $1,100.00
Estimated cost (shutters): $5,800.00
•Replace stage curtain
Estimated cost: $600.00
•Replace table covers
Estimated cost: $900.00
•Eliminate curtains (and rods)
Estimated cost: None
Total estimated cost (with blinds): $25,955.00
Total estimated cost (with shutters): $30,655.00

Martin Luther DVD
To help celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we have a new DVD available for you to borrow (see Pastor Fischer). It is: Rick Steves’ Luther and the Reformation. The promo for it includes: “Along with the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation represented the * growing pains of a Europe evolving from the Middle Ages into the modern age. Today, on the 500th anniversary of this pivotal event in European history, Rick Steves travels in the footsteps of Martin Luther — distilling the story of that bold monk, the chaos of the Reformation, and the larger political, economic, and theological context into an engaging, inspiring, and enlightening hour.”

Bonus features include: Germany’s Luther Towns, Rick Steves’ European Christmas, and Rick Steves’ European Easter.

Fellowship Hall Update

In recent years, from time to time, questions have arisen about the possibility of updating Fellowship Hall. The last time anything was done was in 1997, not counting the new carpet in 2007 and the addition of the coffee counter in 2013. With that in mind, informal meetings for the congregation were held on February 20 and March 9 to discuss improvements.
These meetings generated several ideas to update the dining area. Church Council has appointed the following members to serve as a Fellowship Hall Committee to help guide the development of a plan that can be presented to Council and to the congregation:

Tom Weeks
Bob Straup
Jill Helgeson
Sandi Jordan
Tony Mollgaard
Ernie Thorns
Paul Wagner
Vicki Lybrand
Anna Caldwell
Christa Mollgaard

The first task of the committee is to present the ideas generated from the two informal meetings to the congregation during the Sunday School hour, Sunday, April 23 and again on Sunday, May 7, beginning at 10:00 a.m. You are encouraged to attend these meetings, offer input and voice your opinions. Because these are not Congregational Meetings, these gatherings are for discussion purposes only to help clarify the direction of possible updates for Fellowship Hall.

The Forty Days before Easter are the Lenten season.  During this time we omit the refrains that are connected to celebrating Christ’s resurrection and we use the verses appropriate for Lent.

They are:

1: We refrain from singing Alleluias because of its connection to Easter.

2: There is no Absolution (minister declaring our forgiveness, page 118) for all of Lent is a time of self-examination.

3: Omit the Hymn of Praise: “Glory to God in the highest” and we instead lead straight into the prayer of the day.

4: We sing the Lenten verse: “Let your steadfast Love” page 125

5: We use the Apostles’ Creed.

On Easter Sunday, April 16th, we will return to the verses praising our Lord and His resurrection.