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 

Welcome February

Here it is – already February the month we celebrate Valentine’s Day – the day made to show your love for someone special. Many have accused companies like Hallmark for making this a money maker for themselves, chocolate companies like Hershey’s and Ghirardelli, flower shops and growers. Isn’t it amazing we have to make a special day to show our love.

There is a Catholic priest in Canada who is known for linking pop culture in his sermons. And one of his recent ones caught my attention, probably because he used one of Taylor Swift’s new love songs about Travis. The song is “The fate of Ophelia” taking the Shakespearean tragedy of Ophelia losing her life after being rejected and scorned by love.

Taylor turns this into how someone saw her rejections and scorns and saved her.  She sings how if he never comes for her, she might drown in the melancholy – she says late one night you dug me out of my grave and saved her heart from the fate of Ophelia.

Father Mah tied this to how we have a God who comes for those of us who have been rejected, feel unloved, feeling alone and lost. He comes for us through His Son Jesus Christ and saves us from our fate with his everlasting love.

Let us not need a special day in February to show love for one another, let us take a page from our Father in heaven who shows His love for us every day, every week, every month, year in and year out.

Just one of you in Christ - Ralph

Scripture Readings for February

Sunday, February 1 -4th Sunday after Epiphany
First Reading: Micah 6:1-8
Psalm: 15
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12

Sunday, February 8 - 5th Sunday after Epiphany
First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-9a[9b-12]
Psalm: 112:1-9 [10]
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-12[13-16]
Gospel: Matthew 5:13-20

Sunday, February 15 - Transfiguration of Our Lord
First Reading: Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm: 2 or 99
Second Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-21
Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9

Sunday, February 22 - 1st Sunday in Lent
First Reading: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Psalm: 32
Second Reading: Romans 5:12-19
Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

February Events

 

Lake Hanska: No meeting
Faith:Thursday, February 12th, 7:00 PM

Ruth Bible Study

Monday, February 16th
9:00 AM
Lake Crystal American Legion

Men’s Morning Out

Saturday, February 15th & 28th
8:30 AM
Dean Neumann’s

 

Thrivent Choice Dollars
need to be directed by March 31st

Church Councils

Faith
President: Lori Pietsch
Vice President: Randy Gustafson
Secretary: Stacy Reed
Financial Secretary: Randy Gustafson, Arlo Feder
Treasurer: Jane Piepgras, Kathy Guyer
Trustees: Pam Anderson, Stacy Reed, Ben Odegard, Chad Becker
Deacons: Lori Pietsch, Cindy Lehman, Sherri Gustafson, Mary Feder
Board of Education: Stephanie Odegard, Tammy Krebs, Julia Young, Patty Young

Lake Hanska
President: Melissa Engelhart
Vice President: Jim Lilleodden
Secretary: Cheryl Doe
Financial Secretary: Bonnie Lilleodden
Treasurer: Beth Kral
Trustees: Brian Kjelshus, Norman Skarphol
Deacons Pam Kjelshus, (Position Open)
Maintenance: Kevin Byro
WELCA Coordinator: Bonnie Lilleodden

BOLD NAMES = Joint Executive Board