November 14, 2020

Dear Church Family,

I hope you are all well after a winter’s worth of snow!  It took a while, but we are dug out now and the buses are back. The covid 19 numbers seem to be headed in the wrong direction right now and I expect that our province will likely have more restrictions in the days ahead.

I do want to point out that you are not alone even if you are isolated at home.  Right now we are still connected through phone calls, letter writing, and in the virtual world.  I would encourage you to reach out to others in our church family who might be feeling down or lonely.  I have always experienced Augustana as a caring church family and now we are being tested on how to keep being that very thing. 

May the peace of Christ bless you!

Pastor Marilyn

Worship link for this week: https://youtu.be/6eOhMXqQppw

Zoom communion link for this Sunday at 2 pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88121796722?pwd=YWJqb3plL016ZEJjNDIzQ1hSUVZSZz09

Announcements:

  • If you would like to have any articles or items included in the December newsletter, please send them to the church office by next Friday, November 20th. 

  • Sunday 2 pm holy communion by zoom

Stronger Together 2020: youth ministry during a pandemic - register by November 20
Stronger Together brings together youth and young adult leaders from Dioceses and Synods from across the country to build community, worship and learn about issues facing Youth Ministry. This year, we have moved our gathering online and it will take place from November 24-25. While we know meeting online can't replace an in-person gathering, we hope that more leaders will be able to participate this year because there will be no cost restraints. To find out more, please click here.

Stronger Together is an expression of the Full Communion relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada. All Youth Leaders and Campus Ministers are welcome.

There is no cost for this event, but you will have to register by November 20, 2020 to participate. All sessions will be held online. Details on how to participate will be sent by email after we receive your registration.

If you can't make the sessions when they go live, they will be recorded and posted at a later time. Email Gretchen Peterson (gpeterson@elcic.ca) or Sheilagh McGlynn (smcglynn@national.anglican.ca) to let them know that you'd like to watch the recorded sessions at a later time or if you have any questions.

November 7, 2020

Dear Church Family,

This week we are joining the other Saskatoon ELCIC churches in worship led by Redeemer.  The links for that worship are at the bottom of the email and on the website. 

Please include in your prayers this week Audrey Hedlin and her family.  Audrey is in hospital and her family is gathered with her in shifts. 

“Loving God, your heart overflows with compassion for your whole creation.  Pour out your Spirit on Audrey and her family and loved ones.  Help them to know that you claim them as your own and deliver them from fear and pain; for the sake of Jesus Christ, our healer and Lord. Amen. “

Please also keep our neighbours to the south in your prayers as they deal with their election.

“Almighty God, we lift before you all who govern the United States. May those who hold power understand that it is a trust from you to be used, not for personal glory or profit, but for the service of the people.  Drive from all cynicism, selfishness, and corruption; grant in your mercy just and honest government; and give us grace to live together in unity and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.”

These prayers are taken from our ELW hymnbook (pages 85 and 77).  If you wish to have a hymnbook at home, please pick one up from the church. There are hymnbooks and a sign-out sheet at the back of the sanctuary. The hymnbook has many items in it that are supportive and healing: prayers, hymns, psalms, the small catechism and daily prayer.  I am finding the hymnbook to be a great resource during this pandemic.

May God bless you and keep you,

Pastor Marilyn

Link to Worship Service Audio:

http://redeemersaskatoon.ca/uploads/sermons/2020-11-08-Redeemer%20Lutheran-Web%20Service.mp3

Link to Bulletin:

http://redeemersaskatoon.ca/uploads/PDF%20Pages/Sunday%20November%208%202020.pdf

October 24, 2020

Dear church family,

The newsletter and calendar will be coming out later in the week. There are two things that I would like to pass on to you today.  The first is to remember the family of Jean Spurgeon in your prayers. Jean was the secretary at Augustana prior to her retirement.  Jean died this past week.

The second thing is to let you know that we are postponing our next in-person service.  It was to be November 1, but with the rising number of active cases in Saskatoon we thought it prudent to postpone for a couple of weeks.  All visiting at hospitals and care facilities has also been cancelled for two weeks.  Hopefully these two weeks will give our community time to flatten the curve once again.

When we do have an in-person service again those who wish to attend will be asked to register by calling the church office the week ahead. 

God bless and keep you well,

Pastor Marilyn

Link for worship this week:  https://youtu.be/sXsSE1L2MLE

PS. I have been reminded again that YouTube has a “closed caption” or CC option on the bottom right of the screen.  This is extremely helpful if you have trouble hearing the audio.  Simply click on “CC” and the words of the service will appear on the bottom of the picture.  It adds a bit of humour sometimes too.

 

 

October 16, 2020

Dear church family,

I hope you had a chance to celebrate Thanksgiving this past week.  It might not have been the same celebration as other years, but there is still much for which we can be thankful. It’s evident that we will be operating under covid 19 guidelines for some time to come. I appreciate the creative ways Augustana people have found to continue being a community of faith. Many groups are still safely meeting with in-person physical distance or zoom or a combination of both.  We are becoming more used to worship on-line and singing our praise with gusto in our own homes.  We are learning how to worship safely in person in a small group. The choir is learning new ways of singing praise to God. And so on and so on.  THANK YOU for being a community of faith that is willing to adapt without complaint.

I want to remind you that there are people who will pick up and deliver groceries or medication if you need help.  The church office has the list of volunteers.

Saskatoon lost a very special person when local youth advocate Brandon Applegate was murdered this month.  Brandon is the grandson of Doug and Dorothy Reid who were members at Augustana until their move to Abbottsford, BC. Please keep Brandon’s family in your prayers.

Sunday October 18th

  • 4-5 pm Confirmation kick off at Meewasin Park (wear a mask, bring a lawn chair, dress warmly)

Tuesday, October 20

God bless and keep you well,

Pastor Marilyn

Worship link for this week:  https://youtu.be/HvisKA4D0rc

October 9, 2020

Dear church family,

God bless your thanksgiving celebration this weekend. Let’s be the 10% that returned to give thanks.

We worship with the other ELCIC churches in Saskatoon this Sunday.  Zion will be leading our joint worship this month. 

The church is not re-opening, we have never been closed.  That is because the church is the people not the building.  We are a community of faith. We have slowly begun to open up the building.  We had our first in-person worship service last Sunday with 10 people in attendance.  I believe that we were able to meet safely by following the guidelines from the province and synod.

You might have heard about church services that resulted in outbreaks of covid 19. I believe these outbreaks are the result of not following proper safety guidelines.  I want to assure you that Augustana will always follow and keep up to date with the recommendations from Saskatchewan public health and the synod.

Here are some announcements:

  • Next Sunday, Oct. 18th:

    • On-line worship from Augustana

    • Zoom Holy Communion 2 pm. Link provided next week.

    • Confirmation 3 pm (Meewasin Park) more information TBA.

  • CPR class – the Oct. 26 class is full.  If you wish to take this class please contact Linda Catton or parish nurse Carol so another class can be scheduled.

  • Items for Nov. newsletter and calendar due to church office by Oct. 20

Worship link for this week:

Zion will be live streaming on their Facebook page at 10:30 am Sunday morning (https://www.facebook.com/ZionLutheranSaskatoon). You do not need a Facebook account to view the livestream.

Zion will also be posting the service to their YouTube page later in the day Sunday (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=zion+lutheran+church+saskatoon) – you can also search Zion Lutheran Church, Saskatoon

God bless and keep you safe,

Pastor Marilyn

October 3, 2020

Dear Church Family,

Tomorrow we are going to have our first in-person service since the middle of March.  We are following all the guidelines that the province and Saskatchewan Synod have provided.  We will see how things go before we confirm the next in-person service November 1. In Europe and Great Britain all the churches that have followed the covid 19 protocols have had a safe return to in-person worship.  We will continue to provide an on-line service, so don’t feel pressured to return to services in the church building. Check out the newsletter on our website for more information.

The on-line service this week is pretty special with many photos of the animals in our lives.  I have recently learned that you can click on CC – closed caption on our you tube service and the words of the service will come up.  Handy for anyone who has a hearing loss.

Please keep Wes and Brenda Ulmer in your prayers.  Brenda’s sister, Judy Harris, died recently.  Judy operated the personal care home where Byron Horner lived until recently.

We and the other Saskatoon Lutheran churches will be joining Zion (on-line) for worship next weekend. 

God bless and keep you well.

Pastor Marilyn

This week’s link to worship:  https://youtu.be/8KQHoRx4Ngo

 

September 26, 2020

Dear church family,

There is lots of news in the newsletter (attached and on the website) including an introduction to our new admin. assistant Lorene Jewitt.  I do have a few things to highlight this week.

  • If you are attending worship in-person next Sunday (Oct. 4) please pre-register by Friday. Just call or email the church office.  Check out what a worship service in person will be like in the newsletter.

  • Last week we had a surprise visit from my dog Sophie … This week, as the commemoration of St. Francis, I am hoping for many more visits of the animals in our lives.  Please send me a picture of your animal so it can be included in our blessing of the animals in worship next week.  Text or email will work (by Thursday please).

  • Calendar addition: CPR training October 26, 5 pm. Please call Carol Kostiuk or Linda Catton for more information or to register.

  • Life is different – no doubt about that – and we are still trying to figure out how to do what we normally do.  We will still do Christmas hampers this year.  It may be done a bit differently, but we are going ahead with this regular part of our ministry and outreach.  If you wish to make a donation towards this, please indicate so on your offering.

God bless and keep you well

Pastor Marilyn

Worship link this week: https://youtu.be/VrRM72mPDjk

September 19, 2020

Dear church family,

You might notice a little doggy face peeping out at you this week during worship.  It was not intentional, but it certainly fits with us marking the season of creation.  I had to tape my part of the service from home since I was waiting to hear back on a covid 19 test.  Our dog Sophie quietly took her place behind me and checked out the camera.  Fortunately, the letter carrier did not come while we were taping J or you would have seen and heard Sophie.

I have attached two links this week

·       Worship Service   https://youtu.be/YIPjCnXuafI

·        Holy communion by zoom (2pm Sunday afternoon)   https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89549800180

There are instructions on how to set up for Holy Communion by zoom in the September newsletter on our website. 

We plan to have an in-person worship service on Sunday, October 4.  Be prepared for worship to be different than you are used to.  If you wish to attend this service, please register by calling or emailing Lorene at the church office. We are limited to about 35 attendees for worship. I will tell you more next week. 

As a congregation we are trying to maintain as much of our regular ministry as possible. We are still In Mission. Many of our groups are meeting again or are preparing to meet.  Some meet in person or outside.  Some meet by zoom and some by a combination of in-person and zoom.  There are specific guidelines for us to follow in order to meet safely.  We add a new group or meeting every 2 or 3 weeks and pause before adding anything new. This is a learning experience for us all, but it enables us to be in mission during a pandemic. Thank you for your continued efforts to keep in touch and care for each other.  I have appreciated your support and encouragement and suggestions.       

God bless and keep you safe!

Pastor Marilyn

PS. I deliver a copy of our weekly worship service to people who do not have access to internet. If you know of someone who needs this, please let me know. Pr. M.

September 12, 2020

Dear Church Family,

Our worship service this week is being hosted by Resurrection Lutheran Church.  It is a live service starting at 10 am Sunday morning.  Please note the start time of 10 am. I believe it will be available later on via YouTube.

If you have never done zoom before, this is a chance to practice being “adventurous.” I have never participated in a zoom worship service myself so this will be a lesson for me as well.  I attached Pat Blakley’s very helpful instructions on how to zoom.

God bless and keep you well,

Pastor Marilyn

Zoom log-in information:

Online (Computer or Smartphone):

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/877941727

Meeting ID: 877 941 727

Phone:

1 647 558 0588 Meeting ID: 877 941 727

1 778 907 2071 Meeting ID: 877 941 727

September 5, 2020

Dear church family,

The news is in the newsletter this week.  It is attached or you can read it on the website. 

Next week we are worshiping with Resurrection Lutheran Church and other ELCIC churches in Saskatoon.

Link for worship this week:  https://youtu.be/dT0UE7yU68g

Link for zoom coffee at 11:30 am:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88521101268

God bless and keep you safe,

Pastor Marilyn

August 29, 2020

Dear Church Family,

The September newsletter will come out sometime during the next week. You will notice on the calendar that we have begun to gradually add some meetings and activities to the church building.  After the addition of a new activity we wait 2 or 3 weeks to see what the effect is.  If all is well, we carry on and add one more new thing.  If things don’t go well, we stop and re-evaluate and make a new plan. I think of this as one way to love our neighbours as ourselves. 

Here is some information to hold you until the newsletter:

  • Coffee after church:  11:30 am Sunday morning by Zoom (link below).

  • Holy Communion or a Baptism with your “bubble” of people can be arranged by calling me and setting up a time.

  • Our first Holy Communion by Zoom will be Sept. 20 at 2 pm.  More information about that in the newsletter.

  • A family memorial service for Georgina Krenn will be Sept. 5 at 10 am.  Georgina’s family are arranging to have the service as a live feed.  I should have the link to that live feed by Sept. 4th.

May God bless and keep you well,

Pastor Marilyn

Worship link this week: https://youtu.be/uiRbFi-UqNQ

Zoom link for coffee after church: 11:30 am Sunday morning

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86978305915

YOU CAN ALSO JOIN IN BY PHONE:
        +1 587 328 1099 Canada
        +1 647 374 4685 Canada
        +1 647 558 0588 Canada
        +1 778 907 2071 Canada
        +1 204 272 7920 Canada
        +1 438 809 7799 Canada

August 22, 2020

Dear Church Family,

I hope you have all been able to keep cool and hydrated this last week. What a hot week! I don’t have much information to pass on this week, but the pastors and deacons met with Bishop Sid and Pastor Ali Tote this week. 

  • Our decision to hold off on in-person worship until after school has settled in was affirmed by Pastor Ali.  Pastor Ali is also an epidemiologist and is acquainted with how disease spreads and how to prevent that spread.

  • We have begun to gradually add some meetings and activities to the church building.  After the addition of an activity we wait 2 or 3 weeks to see what the effect is.  If all is well, we carry on with one more new thing.  If things don’t go well, we stop and re-evaluate and make a new plan. I think of this as one way to love our neighbours as ourselves. 

Bruce Nordstrom is moving to Samaritan Place (375 Cornish Road S7T 0P3). 

The September newsletter will come out next week. If you have items for the newsletter or calendar please forward them to bryan.tastad@gmail.com.

Three more things:

  • Coffee after church:  11:30 am Sunday morning by Zoom (link below). How to do Zoom is attached.

  • Holy Communion or a Baptism with your “bubble” can be arranged by calling me and setting up a time.

  • Worship assistants:  in the past we have had a schedule of people to be worship assistants. I would like to continue that. We have one worship assistant a week right now. The worship assistant can record at home or at church.  When we record at church we maintain physical distance. Please contact the church office if you would like to be on the schedule. It is wonderful to see a church member on the screen.

May God bless and keep you well,

Pastor Marilyn

Worship link this week: https://youtu.be/jw0gWzM5C3o

Zoom link for coffee after church: 11:30 am Sunday morning

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84680174343?pwd=aTBrNW9kUXRHUDVCSVJkamNoZy9hQT09

YOU CAN ALSO JOIN IN BY PHONE:
        +1 587 328 1099 Canada
        +1 647 374 4685 Canada
        +1 647 558 0588 Canada
        +1 778 907 2071 Canada
        +1 204 272 7920 Canada
        +1 438 809 7799 Canada

August 15, 2020

WELCOMING      CELEBRATORY      INSPIRING      ADVENTUROUS     IN MISSION

Dear church family,

I would like to thank you for continuing to find ways to connect with one another.  I continue to hear words of appreciation from those who have received phone calls or mail from their church family.  It is good to be reminded that we are part of a church community especially with being apart for 5 months and counting. 

Our church family has lost a long time member:  Mary Burrows died Aug. 3. Her immediate family has had a small memorial service.  Please keep Mary’s family and friends in your prayers. This is a loss for her family and our church family, but it is also a loss across our national church because of Mary’s time as the seminary librarian.  Many of our pastors came to know and love Mary during their time at seminary. You can read Mary’s obituary at https://thestarphoenix.remembering.ca/obituary/mary-burrows-1079656782

You will notice that I have placed our 5-part “Augustana is” statement at the top of this note.  This 5-part statement is up on the wall at church and it appears on many of our documents.  It is good for us to reflect on what those words mean to us 5 months into a pandemic.

At the beginning of summer I asked you to reflect on what it means to be WELCOMING during covid 19.  And part of that is doing what we can to care for each other.  Another part of that is to care for those outside our own bubble. One opportunity to do this comes through CLWR (Canadian Lutheran World Relief) and PWRDF (Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund).  The explosion in Lebanon and the resulting unrest and homelessness are being addressed through both organizations and funds raised will be matched by the Canadian government. This need is significant to our congregation because the refugee family we are sponsoring, the Alhamad-Wahid family, is living in Lebanon. 

Thanks to the members of the “Holy Rollers and Tearers” who have been carrying on with the work of that group at home.  They are still able to provide soap and shampoo where needed.

The next word to explore is ADVENTUROUS.  Here are some opportunities to be adventurous: 

  • coffee after church on Sunday 11:15 am – meeting by zoom.  Invitation at the bottom of this update. (instructions on how to zoom are attached)

  • Holy Communion by Zoom – the afternoon of September 20th

  • It has been a blessing to have singers leading us during on-line worship.  I hear that it is also a blessing for those who are doing the singing.  Would you like to blessed in this way?  Please contact Deborah Buck if you want to join this musical adventure that is also good for the soul. 

The worship committee, health cabinet and others met this past week to explore returning to worship in person.  It was decided that we would postpone returning to worship in person until October. We thought it prudent to let the school year settle in first.  September often sees an increase in virus transmission during normal times and this year is an unknown.

The new plan is:

  • in-person worship on the 1st Sunday of every month beginning Oct. 4th,

  • zoom communion the 3rd Sunday of every month beginning Sept. 20th

  • on-line services every week.

  • Private family/”people in your bubble” baptisms (please set up the time with Pastor Marilyn) and

  • Holy communion at the church with the people in your bubble (again, set up the time with Pastor Marilyn)

This has been a long update, thank you for your persistence to the end J

God bless and keep you all well.

Pastor Marilyn

Link to this week’s worship (or follow the link on our website):  https://youtu.be/o62hnnBkgPQ

Join Zoom Meeting (coffee time after church)

Click on this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85895823130

Meeting ID: 858 9582 3130

YOU CAN ALSO JOIN IN BY PHONE:

Dial by your location
        +1 587 328 1099 Canada
        +1 647 374 4685 Canada
        +1 647 558 0588 Canada
        +1 778 907 2071 Canada
        +1 204 272 7920 Canada
        +1 438 809 7799 Canada
Meeting ID: 858 9582 3130

August 8, 2020

Dear Church family,

I’m back from my back yard vacation and study leave.  I hope you have been enjoying this summer close to home. 

Augustana and all the ELCIC churches in Saskatoon join in worshiping with Zion this week.  I have attached a copy of the whole service which includes a children’s page.  The service can be accessed from our website or from this link:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo7oFRb9WluqtWmHpv-yVgw/videos

I am exploring how to provide sacramental ministry such as Baptism and Holy Communion for our community. I did some visiting of other congregations during my vacation to see how others are being “church” during a pandemic and I have some ideas to talk over with our worship committee.

The news out of Lebanon this past week has been disturbing for the refugee family we are sponsoring.  The Alhamad-Wahid family are still in Lebanon awaiting word on when they can come to Canada.  They were not directly affected by the explosion in Beirut, but the ensuing unrest and shortages have been frightening for them and their family in Canada.  Please keep them in your prayers.

In Our Prayers at Augustana this week: for all who grieve especially Mik Bickis and family on the death of Mik’s brother Ugis , and for Bruce, Gloria, Clayton, Logan, William, Marcus, Brody, Karin, Anthony, Robert, Curtis, Linda, Marci, Earl, Janet, Gayle, Evelyn, Lisa, Danielle, Inger, Anne Jane, Deanna, Carol, Wilma, Mary, Marlene, those who feel a sense of isolation during this pandemic; for those who must travel; the Wahid family in Lebanon and the Iqbal family in Thailand; for teachers and students preparing for a new and different school year. Pray for the staff development people as they interview and hire a new administrative assistant in the near future.

May the peace of Christ bless you,

Pastor Marilyn

Mark Your Calendar: The Health Cabinet and Worship committee will meet by Zoom (those who cannot be there in person) and in person (for those who can safely attend) to begin making plans for how we might return to worship in our church. We will be following all recommendations and guidelines that have been put forward by the provincial government and Saskatchewan Synod.

7 pm Tuesday August 11th.

We will continue to have on-line service so that those who cannot safely attend may still be part of our worshipping community. It is recommended that seniors, young children and those with ongoing health conditions or compromised immune systems worship from home. If you have concerns or ideas going forward, please send me an email or give me a call.

July 4, 2020

Dear Church Family,

I will be taking some combined study leave and vacation time in the next few weeks. Our worship services will continue to be made available on our website (www.augustanasaskatoon.net).  Each week we will have a guest preacher.  The ELCIC bishops and bishops’ assistants are providing these sermons. Thank you to Deborah Buck and the choir for their musical leadership and to Bryan Tastad who makes our worship accessible. Thanks also to our worship assistants: Greg, Ruth, Jayce, Javyn, Sheena, and Dale.

Our plans to return to worship in the church building are still tentative and we will continue to have taped or livestreamed services even when we do return to worship in the church building.  If all goes well, we will return to the church building for worship in September.  Please know that we will most certainly be following all the guidelines of the province and synod so that our worship space is safe.

Thank you to all who have contributed to our book of memories for Georgina Krenn.  You may see it on our website (it is with the newsletters).  The book has also been shared with Ron, Nicholas, Mitchell and Kendal Krenn. We will miss Georgina’s gracious presence in the church office and her ever full dish of sweets.

Church council and the personnel committee are working to fill the positions of administrative assistant and outside maintenance (grass cutting & snow removal). If you know of people who might fill these positions, please encourage them to submit a resume to the church office (augustana@sasktel.net).

God bless and keep you well.

Pastor Marilyn

Worship link for this week:  https://youtu.be/yIs4MQEtYCk

June 27, 2020

Dear Church Family,

I do believe summer is here.  This will be a summer to explore the world close at hand.  But you can go to church – in a virtual way – all around the world.  It’s a good opportunity to visit other churches and worship with them without having to leave your armchair (you can visit Pastor David & Margaret in Vernon or a friend or relative in another country).  I hope that you will also continue to worship at Augustana. This is one way we can continue to be together as a community of faith. 

I would like to thank the Augustana St. Timothy choir for their help with singing in our worship services. Each of the singers individually records themselves singing along with a recording that Deborah Buck has made and sent out.  Deborah then puts all the voices together into one recording and sends it to Bryan Tastad.  Greg Fowlie-Neufeld and I and the worship assistant meet at the church to record our portions of the service and then we pass these recordings on to Bryan.  Bryan weaves it all together and posts our worship service on youtube and provides us all with the link. WOW.

I am also thankful for the work of Luminhos especially in the last three months when I have not been allowed to visit in the hospital.  Pastor Michael Diegel (a member of Augustana) is the acting chaplain for Luminhos and he has continued to be able to visit in the hospital.  Here is the link to the current Luminhos newsletter:  https://www.luminhos.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/June-2020-Caregiver-June-25.pdf

I have been giving you weekly “assignments,” but now I would like to give you an assignment for the whole summer.  At the top of our summer edition of the newsletter (attached to this email & accessible through our website) there is a line that says:

WELCOMING   CELEBRATORY    INSPIRIING    ADVENTUROUS    IN MISSION

In the coming months I would like to explore how we can still be all of those things beginning with WELCOMING.  How can we be a welcoming community while we are apart?  How can we be a welcoming community when we gather for worship wearing masks keeping 2 metres apart?  Along with continuing to keep in touch with each other by phone, text, and messaging your task this summer is to come up with ideas and Bible verses & stories on how we can do this.  I am looking forward to hearing your ideas. 

May the peace of Christ bless you all.

Pastor Marilyn

Link for worship this week:   https://youtu.be/LtCygzaoDoc

June 20, 2020

Dear Church Family,

Happy Father’s Day to all you father and father-figures out there.  Being a caring and nurturing man in today’s world is not always easy, thanks for taking the job on.

I am sad to pass on the news that we have had two deaths in our church family this past week: 

  • Jennie Sukut whose family graveside funeral was held on Friday.  To share memories and condolences with her family, please visit www.parkfuneral.ca

  • Paul Freitag – sisters Mary and Monica are with Paul’s mom Meta.  Please keep them in your prayers.

Our wonderful grass cutter and snow remover, Otto Thresher, is unable to continue.  I have really appreciated his work especially in the winter when he takes such great care to make our sidewalks as safe as possible.  He was always very particular on a Sunday morning so that no one slipped coming to church. Church council is looking for someone to take this job on. 

We do have guidelines for returning to worship in the building.  We are going to go slow because there are lots of little boxes that need to be “ticked” so we can do it safely.  We will continue with on-line worship during the summer. We will do some “practice runs” during the summer on a Thursday evening as we record Sunday worship. That will help us get used to a new practice of worship.  The goal is to return to worship in the building in September.  One thing we possibly could do in the meantime is hold a worship service outside for 30.  Please let me know if this is something you would like to do. 

If you have items for the Summer edition of our newsletter, Augustana Previews, please forward them to Bryan Tastad at bryan.tastad@gmail.com by Tuesday June 23.

God bless and keep you well,

Pastor Marilyn

This week’s link to worship:  https://youtu.be/yFSLo4Q4MLg

June 6, 2020

Dear Church Family,

I hope that life is going well for you as the province gradually re-opens.  We are a little like the ground hog on February 2nd sticking our nose out the door to check how things are going. Here are a few notes on life at Augustana.

  • Worship Assistants – it has been good to have worship assistants for our on-line worship the last two weeks.  We will continue to have a worship assistant for our taped services.  If you would like to be a worship assistant, please contact me.  Here comes the standard disclaimer that we are all becoming more familiar with: If you are unwell, have come in contact with someone who has the covid 19 virus, have traveled out of the province or are within the vulnerable sector, please do not volunteer for this job.

  • On-going discussion regarding in-person worship – we are not in a rush to have in-person worship, but we are making preparations for this to happen safely.  We will begin with a non-communion service and then at least two weeks later we will have a communion service and when that has been safely established we will consider how to have a baptism, and so on.  On the advice of Pastor Ali Tote, who is also an epidemiologist, we are taking things step by step and evaluating each step along the way.  These are some of the practices we will adopt.

    • Worship participants will reserve a place prior to the service to ensure that we do not exceed the allowable number of participants.

    • 2 m. physical distancing will be ensured for all participants as they enter, worship and exit.

    • Participants are to wear masks and practice good hand hygiene.

    • The congregation may not sing, but we will have music and we will have a cantor who gives voice to our songs from behind a plexiglass shield.

    • We have developed a way to celebrate communion in keeping with current concerns.

    If all these details seem to be overwhelming, know that they are in place so that our worship participation does not make us vectors of the virus.  The cooperation of the majority of Saskatchewan people has had a positive effect on the spread of the virus in our province.  I believe the measures we take at Augustana will support that. Please let me or a church council member know your concerns and questions.

  • Next Sunday, June 14th, we will worship with Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.  They also have a weekly video service.  The link to that worship will be on our website.  I am going to take that opportunity to take a week of vacation time so I will not have weekly update for you next week.

  • Your “assignment” this week:  Our first lesson this week is the creation story. Take a bit of time every day to notice and appreciate the world around you.  What do you smell, see, hear, feel, taste? The past week has also seen an outpouring of concern for racism in our communities.  It is easy to see and condemn overt acts of racism, but less easy to see how we ourselves are part of a racist society.   I struggle with how we can and should respond as a faith community.  I welcome your thoughts on this.

May God bless and keep you well.

Pastor Marilyn

Our worship link this week:  https://youtu.be/O1YAwwgsTM4

 

May 30, 2020

Dear church family,

Someone once told me that there are two rules to follow in order to be successful: First rule – never tell everything you know …..

But really, I plan to tell you everything I know! And that is a challenge because lately current information changes from week to week.  Phase 3 of the Saskatchewan plan to reopen the province begins next week.  However, Augustana will not gather for worship at 1201 Broadway just yet.  There are a number of practical matters that have to be arranged before we can safely return to worship in our church building.  And even when we do return to worship in our building it will be different. We will still celebrate Word and sacrament, but we will learn to do so according to the needs of our time.  Music will remain part of our worship, but there will not be congregational singing.  Congregational participation will be part of our worship, but will be spoken not sung.  We will sit with appropriate physical distances between households.  Worshipers will likely need to reserve their place at worship so we can ensure that we do not exceed our attendance limit. If we need to, we will have more than one worship service a week.

We will continue to have on-line worship services for the foreseeable future so that those who can not attend services at 1201 Broadway can still worship with us.  Those who are most vulnerable will still need to worship at home. During our time worshiping together/apart our worship attendance has increased significantly, perhaps we need to continue on-line worship on the other side of this pandemic. 

Weekly assignment – because this is the festival of Pentecost I have a different assignment for you this week.  At Pentecost the disciples were given the ability to share the gospel in the language of those around them.  How might we share the gospel in a way that is understood by those around us?  What kind of language would we use?  Probably not “churchy” language. What body language would we use? What “actions that speak louder than words” would we use?  Thank you for your phone calls and messages to one another, I hear that they are appreciated.

For a darkly humorous view of what returning to worship in church buildings might look like check out Pastor Erik Parker in his blog “The Millennial Pastor.”

 (https://millennialpastor.ca/2020/05/26/so-your-church-is-opening-up-after-covid-19-closures-it-wont-be-what-you-are-hoping-for/?fbclid=IwAR0X02l2TIn0RAZ6inEjmxX2pM5YpnBPBJQ0WvWKJdm8ixAC_6CMsVXF7zA

May the Spirit of God blow into your lives,

Pastor Marilyn

Link for worship this week: https://youtu.be/WITGv3RnLnE

On the website this week:  the link to worship and the June newsletter

PS: One thing we need in preparation for returning to worship in our church building is Plexiglass.  If you happen to have an extra sheet of plexiglass in your garage, can we use it?

 

May 23, 2020

Dear Church Family,

Spring has really arrived and some restrictions are being loosened.  Both are welcome and both require some work.  Thank you to Gord Morley and Mik and Jane Bickis for their spring clean-up work in the church yard.  I have outlined some of the work in progress that goes along with loosening restrictions in the province.

  • We now have a Zoom licence. So if you wish to have a meeting please contact me to set it up.

  • Newsletter – please have items for the June newsletter in as soon as possible (bryan.tastad@gmail.com).  It will be available next weekend.

  • Book of remembrances for Georgina Krenn.  Please send in your items for this as soon as possible.  They can be your memory of Georgina and/or your message to her family.

  • Weekly assignment – there are many who feel the isolation more deeply: those who live alone and those who have underlying health concerns that make continued isolation necessary.  Please reach out, by phone call, to one of these folk.

  • Please keep Gabi Lindenbach and family in your prayers.  Gabi’s step-mother died on Mother’s Day.

  • Many of you have pointed out wonderful resources on the internet.  If you are on Facebook please share them with Augustana’s Facebook page.

  • I have been asked if etransfer donations can be made to the church. Yes, they can be made to augustana@sasktel.net.  The church banks through Affinity credit union.

Return to 1201 Broadway – aka the church building

Health Cabinet and Worship committee are working on plans to help us find a safe new normal for our congregation. We will, of course, follow all the Saskatchewan recommendations and regulations. Phase 3 of the relaunch Saskatchewan is set to begin June 8.  At that time it will be possible to have gatherings of 15 people or less (with physical distancing and use of face masks, etc).  We will continue to worship through the internet and deliver printed copies of our worship. 

When the number allowed in the church building reaches 30 we will possibly have one or two services a week in the building while also keeping our taped service on the internet.  We are exploring how to do this safely.  It will likely mean that people will sign up to attend a service in advance.  Our communion practice will be different. Many of our congregation will still need to worship at home. Church services will be offered in more than one way, but we will still be one community.

You will notice that I am using language that is tentative – “likely” and “possibly”.  We are still learning what steps are necessary to keep our community safe and healthy.  We want to act responsibly to ensure that.  

I hope you are able to enjoy the warmth of a springtime sunbeam. God keep you safe and well.

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Marilyn

This week’s link to worship https://youtu.be/FC9fCdvYuo0