April 2026 Lake Hanska News

 

News from Lake Hanska Lutheran Church

 

Food Shelf Report

We were able to once again bring 23# of supplies to the Brown County Food Shelf at the end of

February. We are so grateful to deliver goods at the end of each month. It is so easy to drop any

non-perishable groceries, cleaning supplies, or hygiene supplies into the box provided in the Narthex of the church.    

 

WELCA Quilters Report 

5 ladies met on Wednesday, March 4th for a fun get-together. They were able to make 2 quilts during the morning hours plus assist with another quilt. We’d love for you to come join us. Another way to help out is to donate materials of old sheets or good materials in good shape, or donating cash to buy more materials as our resources for funds are limited. If interested, we do also sell our quilts for $25 each. Any quilts we have are donated to NUMAS Haus, Brown County Human Services, Watonwan Human Services, Senior Homes, NOVA House, and more.

 

Bible Study

Ralph Flitter leads us in a more in-depth look of the Gospel from the worship the Sunday before we meet. This is a very relaxed, informal discussion of the Gospel. Everyone (men-women-Faith

Lutheran members and non-members) are welcome to join us. You do not have to do quilting if you come for the Bible Study. We will enjoy coffee and treats (optional: bring a treat to share) during the study. We look forward to seeing you. 

 

Living Meadows General Store

The Living Meadows at Luther Spring Festival will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Madelia on Tuesday, April 14th. The public is encouraged to come and support Living Meadows. We continue to have a basket located in the narthex to receive small gift items to be donated to Living Meadows

General Store for bingo prizes and other things. Items can be lotions and cremes, soaps, body

sprays, hygiene care items, toothpaste, coloring books, large sized crayons, Word Finds, greeting cards, snacks and sugar-free candies, room décor and other small items.

 

Snow Removal Season

Like it or not we are in the season of possible snow removal. Please be considerate of the need and pitch in when you can. A shovel, broom, and salt is provided near the west door of the Narthex. If you have a blower or scoop, the trustees will be forever grateful for the help.

 

April Message from Minister

 

Here we are at April and we think spring is here to stay – but we have been fooled before. Easter is early this year, and I can remember as a kid playing with a cousin out in the snow on Easter – hopefully we won’t see that.

April is primarily a feminine given name of a Latin origin meaning “to open” which is very symbolic of what we think of spring. We think of the new buds on trees, of the grass beginning to turn green, of ice-covered lakes opening up and of course April showers so that we can have May flowers. Back to the Latin origin, it refers to the opening of nature during springtime.

During our Easter season, we can relate these meanings to our celebration of our Lord’s resurrection on Easter morning. However, we don’t look at the opening of nature – we look at the opening of the tomb and finding it empty! I think we all have experienced the feeling of opening a gift box, a package, that tub of ice cream in the freezer and finding that it is empty! We don’t rejoice at that time and neither did the women who had come in the early hours of Easter morning. They were very concerned with where their Lord had been taken – but their concerns were soon to turn to celebration when they discovered that Jesus was with them still. In his human form, nail holes in his hands and the spear slice in his side.

At this time of spring, when we get back outdoors to enjoy the warmer weather with walks, bike rides, lawn work or just sitting on a deck taking in the new beginnings after the winter – let us take in all the wonder around us and take time to rejoice that our Savior died and rose again for us.  

A proper prayer for spring – “As the sun rises, you are ever near us, risen Christ. We give you thanks and praise for your presence in all its surprising forms.” Let us truly revel and enjoy what God has done for us this Easter and every day of the year.

 

Just one of you in Christ - Ralph

 

March 12th Faith Lutheran Church Council

 

Faith Lutheran Church Council Minutes – March 12, 2026

 

           President - Lori Pietsch                          V. President - Randy Gustafson   

           Secretary - Stacy Reed                            Treasurers - Kathy Guyer, Jane Piepgras   

Deacons - Sherri Gustafson, Cindy Lehman    S.A.M - Ralph Flitter

Trustees - Ben Odegard, Chad Becker, Pam Bocock

BOE - Steph Odegard 

 

Secretary’s Report:

Reviewed February minutes as printed in the newsletter.

 

Treasurer’s Report: 

February expenses were $15,353.98 and receipts $8,876.05. Kathy reported she has asked for a larger garbage bin to be delivered. Also discussed was bringing in a 2 or 4 yd dumpster for the week of VBS.

 

Trustees Report:

The glass panel by the front sliding doors was shattered a few weeks ago, a police report was filed. The

replacement cost is $ 933.40 and has been ordered. Ben presented a quote for security cameras through

Christensen Communications. We discussed the need and cost of these cameras and will further discuss them at the next meeting.

 

Deacons: 

Easter garden order forms are available in the sanctuary.

¨ 3/21- 1st Communion class

¨ 3/29- Palm Sunday

¨ 4/5 - Easter Sunday with children's sermon

¨ 5/3- Confirmation Sunday

¨ 5/17- Senior Graduation Recognition

 

We have received 2 large cash donations for VBS.

 

Board of Ed:

April 29th will be the last night of JAM with a Parent/family night. Confirmation students are seeking donations for the food shelf. In April the students will be shopping for the food shelf with the donations collected. Last year they collected $1,070. A donation plate is also located in the back of the church for food shelf donations.

 

Ralph’s Report:

Ralph’s visits this month were 5 Home/l Living Meadows, 1 Office visit and 3 at Pray without Ceasing. He has attended a daylong session as part of the  Partners in Education of the SW MN Synod and also the annual

meeting of the Watonwan River Conference. Attendance for Wednesday Lenten services at Faith has been spotty. Ralph would like to address this for next year, do we need to change the time of the service? Ralph continues to meet with his mentors Scott Richards and Sarah Zender. He will be attending his 3rd and final SAM retreat April 19-21.

Motion to accept reports was made by Ben/seconded by Kathy.

 

Old Business:

Cranberry hymnals have been purchased. A listing was reviewed for the visiting committee. The new website is operating and looks great, take a look and let us know what you think. The new website is:

faithlutheranmadelia.org

 

New Business:

Spring clean-up is scheduled for 4/29 at 6:00pm. Please consider helping us. We have spoken to an organ repair specialist and received a quote for a service call to fix. They believe it is a magnetic issue with a stuck F pedal.

Chad made a motion to approve the organ repair and Ben seconded. 

Respectfully submitted, Stacy Reed-Secretary

 

Faith February Council meeting

 

Faith Lutheran Church Council Minutes –Feb. 12, 2026

President - Lori Pietsch                    V. President - Randy Gustafson
             Secretary - Stacy Reed                    Treasurers - Kathy Guyer, Jane Piepgras

          Deacons - Sherri Gustafson, Cindy Lehman, Mary Feder
                     Trustees - Ben Odegard, Chad Becker, Pam Bocock
                     BOE - Julia Young, Patty Young

Secretary’s Report:
Reviewed January minutes as printed in the newsletter.

Treasurer’s Report:
January expenses were $ 9,694.22 and receipts $11,343.50. We will transfer $5,000 from the checking account back to the building fund, which was borrowed from over the past years to meet monthly expenses.

Trustees Report:
Ben reported he had a visit with the Grinnell insurance representative. He noted that we needed to bring some of our policies/protocols up to date. Ben shared those items with the council. It was stated Ben and Ralph will look into this with the Synod and report back at the next meeting. Trustees will schedule a service call with local electricians to look at a few lighting issues and the bell tower. 

Deacons:
Confirmation report- the confirmation students took a field trip to New Ulm to visit the Ivy House (crisis house) and the Numas House (homeless shelter for women and children). The students will also be participating in a pledge drive for the Madelia Food Shelf over the next week. Upcoming dates:

· Council Installation – Sunday, March 15^th
· Confirmation- Sunday, May 3^rd
· Senior Graduation Recognition- Sunday, May 17th 

Board of Ed:
JAM made and distributed Valentines to nursing home residents and local shut ins. The last day of JAM will be the last Wednesday of April 

Ralph’s Report:
January’s schedule consisted of a 2-day seminar, outreach visitations, Watonwan River Valley conference. Continuing education courses are taking place in February.

Motion to accept reports was made by Randy/seconded by Ben. 

Old Business:
Discussed needing more cranberry-colored hymnals; we are short 39. Ralph and Lori researched the purchasing. Cost is $ 26.50/hymnal through Augsburg Press. 

Chad made a motion to purchase the 39 hymnals with monies from the Memorial Fund.
Ben seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. 

Update regarding the visiting committee: a list/spreadsheet needs to be gathered with names/addresses.  This list will be divided among the volunteers.

New Business:
Julia inquired again about 1^st Communion classes; Ralph will check with Lake Hanska and hopes to have a class done by Easter. Kathy has been working on a new church website. It will have a new name, making it easier for people to find when searching. It is also very user friendly and will contain a calendar of events and the monthly newsletter.

The new website is: faithlutheranmadelia.org

Motion to adjourn was made by Ben and seconded by Mary.

Respectfully submitted, Stacy Reed-Secretary

 

Scripture Readings for March

Sunday, March 1 - Second Sunday in Lent
First Reading: Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 121
Second Reading: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
Gospel: John 3:1-17

Sunday, March 8 - Third Sunday in Lent
First Reading: Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95
Second Reading: Romans 5:1-11
Gospel: Joh 4:5-42

Sunday, March 15 - Fourth Sunday in Lent
First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Psalm 23
Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14
Gospel: John 9:1-41

Sunday, March 22 - Fifth Sunday in Lent
First Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 130
Second Reading: Romans 8:6-11
Gospel: John 11:1-45

Sunday, March 29 - Palm Sunday
First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Second Reading: Philippians 2:5-11
Gospel: Matthew 26:14--27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54

March Madness

March madness, a phenomenon every year in the NCAA world of basketball. 68 teams compete for the prestige of being crowned the national champion – this occurs in both the men’s and women’s arena. This tournament lasts into April – very remindful of the season we are currently in.

March madness is an annual tournament that turns offices into betting meccas with pools created and studies show a significant drop in productivity. Excitement arises and talks around the water coolers replay the previous evenings events. And the build up to championship weekend in April is intense.

Unfortunately, the excitement of our Lenten season does not match that of March madness.

Services are sparsely attended and even the grand finale of our championship called Easter is not as jam packed. Tickets for the NCAA championships are hard to get and expensive as well. Seating at churches is easier to come by. Why is that? Some will tell you that the tournament only comes around once a year so it’s really important. Easter and the good news of Jesus’ resurrection only comes around once a year also – and its importance far outweighs any basketball championship by an immeasurable amount. 

My prayer for all of us is that we get excited for our March madness leading up to our championship Sunday of Easter. Talk about it around the water cooler – visit with friends at the café – and remember there is a sure bet for us. Christ died and rose again for our sins – he did all this because of his love for us – let us show our love for him with our March madness.

Just one of you in Christ - Ralph 

Vacation Bible School

Faith Lutheran Vacation Bible School is schedule for 

July 26 - 30th.  

Additional Information will be added soon.