Our Newsletter
The Ambassador
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
Summer 2022
10 Farrand Street, Thunder Bay, ON P7A 3H5
Offices: 344-1926; Immanuel Hall/FAX: 343-4857
E-mail: osimm@tbaytel.net
Facebook: ‘Our Saviour’s Thunder Bay’
YouTube: ‘Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of Thunder Bay’
Instagram: ‘OSLCTBay’
Pastor: Matthew H. Diegel (Parsonage: 344-6822)
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Coffee & Conversation
Join Pastor Matthew, Wednesdays, 7:00-8:00 p.m., for informal conversation and brief devotions. Bring a coffee or another beverage, and a folding chair, if you have one. On nice days, we will meet outside by the back of the church. On rainy days, we will meet inside. If you would like to host one at your home in July please let Pastor Matthew know, and we’ll fine tune the schedule.
Fellowship Hours
We have Fellowship Hour each Sunday following worship, in Immanuel Hall. The platform lift is available for those who cannot access the basement via the stairs. We are once more placing the food and beverages at the serving tables. Wearing a mask and social distancing while coming to the tables and returning to your seat is recommended. Guidelines for set-up are posted in the kitchen. Please sign up on the sheet in the front hall to help with setup/cleanup and baking.
Virtual Fellowship
On summer vacation!
Children’s Ministry
The Summer drop off/pick up activity kits are available. Also, Activity handouts related to each Sunday are emailed each Thursday and are available in the front hall. For one or both: osimm@tbaytel.net.
Bridges VBS@Home
Coming from Waterloo Region: online Vacation Bible School, July 11-15!
We will have daily videos, music, crafts, games and more!
Our theme will be "Caterpillar Clark and the Miracle Chase!" and will focus on the Bible verse Job 5:9. "God performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. Clark the caterpillar is looking for the little miracles of everyday life.“ For updates, follow us at facebook.com/bridgesvbs .
In-person worship
We gather each Sunday at 10:30 a.m.. Holy Communion during the summer will be celebrated on July 3 and 24 and Aug. 7. In Sept., we will return to our 1st and 3rd Sunday schedule. Other Sundays are Service of the Word. Worship with the Band will return in the fall.
As we meet, we record the services. They are uploaded later on Sunday to our YouTube channel, ‘Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of Thunder Bay’. Closed captions are available on the video – words to the songs are added Monday.
Texts of the bulletin, with links to videos of the songs, and sermon are mailed out on Saturday: sign up for our enews: osimm@tbaytel.net. They are also posted on our website on Saturday: www.oursaviourstbay.org .
The congregational council and Health officials continue to recommend the wearing of masks during in-person worship, especially when singing; anywhere in the building when social distancing cannot be maintained; and for all who are not fully vaccinated.
For the comfort and well-being of those attending in-person worship, we are maintaining the closure of every other row, unless room is needed.
Holy Communion is being shared in both kinds. We continue to receive a ‘wafer-in-a-cup’ as we enter the sanctuary. At the time of the Communion, we eat the bread while sitting in the pews. (Gluten-free wafers are available – please see Pastor Matthew. You may also bring your own bread.) Then we are invited to come up the centre aisle, socially distanced, to receive the wine/grape juice. Prefilled glasses in trays are on a table at the foot of the chancel stairs. After taking a glass, please go off to the side and drink. There is a receptacle for the used glasses as we go back to our seats via the side aisles.
If watching online, when the presiding minister says, ‘The body of Christ given for you’, we welcome all to take and eat a piece of bread, remembering and giving thanks for the promises of grace, forgiveness, love, new life, and community given us in Christ Jesus. Please also do so, taking a glass of wine or other beverage, when the presiding minister says, 'The blood of Christ, shed for you'.
Worship Assistants
For summer worship we need Greeters and Ushers, a Reader, Communion Set-up/ Assistant (if Communion) and a Sanitizer (for after service). Please sign up on the sheets in the front hall.
If you’d like to help lead worship while Pastor Matthew is on vacation, please see Linda Sander.
'Eternity for Today'
Copies of July – Sept. edition of our national church’s daily devotional booklet are available in the front hall, and can also be dropped off. Pastor Matthew will be a writer for the Jan.-Mar. 2023 issue.
Readings for Worship
July 3 – Time after Pentecost
Isaiah 66:10-14
Psalm 66:1-9
Galatians 6:[1-6] 7-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
July 10 – Time after Pentecost
Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Psalm 25:1-10
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37
July 17 - Time after Pentecost
Genesis 18:1-10a
Psalm 15
Colossians 1:15-28
Luke 10:38-42
July 24 – Time after Pentecost
Genesis 18:20-32
Psalm 138
Colossians 2:6-15 [16-19]
July 31 – Time after Pentecost
Ecclesisastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
Psalm 49:1-12
Colossians 3:1-11
Luke 12:13-21
August 7 – Time after Pentecost
Genesis 15:1-6
Psalm 33:12-22
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Luke 12:32-40
August 14 – Time after Pentecost
Jeremiah 23:23-29
Psalm 82
Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2
Luke 12:49-56
August 21 – Time after Pentecost
Isaiah 58:9b-14
Psalm 103:1-8
Hebrews 12:18-29
Luke 13:10-17
August 28 – Time after Pentecost
Proverbs 25:6-7
Psalm 112
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Luke 14:1, 7-14
September 4 – Time after Pentecost
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 1
Philemon 1-21
Luke 14:25-33
Food Donations
Food donations received in the wicker basket in the front hall in July will be given to the Current River Churches’ food cupboard. Those donated in August will go to the Gathering Table’s food bank.
2022 National Convention
The convention is being held as an online gathering, July 15-16, to conduct essential business. Pastor Matthew is a rostered delegate. Full convention proceedings will be live-streamed via Facebook and YouTube. There will be a special in-person convention in 2023.
Life’s Journeys:
Death:
Villy (Bill) Christiansen, June 9 (Funeral: June 14)
“Council Comments”
Chair – Linda Sander 622-0604
Vice-Chair – Karen Bishop 344-0052
Secretary – Aritith Francis 345-3617
Treasurer – Linda Sander 622-0605
Council met in Immanuel Hall for its regular monthly meeting, Tues. June 14. 7 members were present. 1 was excused, and there is now 1 vacancy.
-For our Opening Prayer, Pastor Matthew shared with us the contents of the new children’s Summer Activity kit, and used some of the prayers found in it.
-Linda reported on the Financial Statements for May. Council continues to thank you for your offerings. Year-to-date, we remain slightly above our 2021 giving levels.
-Our Insurance for the church building and parsonage come up for renewal at the end of June. We will continue to pay this using its monthly option. Council is exploring obtaining an updated replacment cost evaluation for the parsonage, to ensure that our coverage is adequate.
-We are awaiting word from the Ontario government on our application for the new round of Anti-Hate grants, as it applies to houses of worship. If successful, we would use it to improve outdoor lighting, etc…
-Council discussed a request from the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association to lease Immanuel Hall and the two rooms in the ‘new Sunday School wing’ for English as a Second Language classes. The term is from Sept. 2022-June 23, Mon. to Fri., 9:30 – 2:30, as per the school year. Having obtained positive references and hosting site visits, Council passed the motion that Our Saviour’s lease Immanuel Hall and the two adjoining rooms to the TBMA for the period Sept. 2022-June 2023, for $750.00 monthly. The Multicultural Association is very appreciative of this decision, as it puts its school sites close to each other – here, Lakeview Presbyterian, and its Court St. site, we are on bus routes, and its purpose echoes our mission statement.
-Council has approved the church once more being a site for the VON Falls Exercise and Prevention programme. The VON is currently working through its restart planning.
-Thanks to the anonymous donators, members of the Thunder Bay Horticultural Society have been busy cleaning, pruning, and rejuvenating our front landscaping. We will need to replenish the mulch in the beds – watch for bags waiting to be spread! Also, we need to think about ‘retiring’ the cedars along the front of the building – dying from the inside.
-Quotes are being sought for work on the church’s northwest exit and the parsonage’s upstairs bathroom.
-Karen Bishop volunteered to be our congregation’s representative on the Board of the Lutheran Community Care (June 27- 2023.) Thanks, Karen!
-Council continues to seek someone to fill the vacant position on council (due to Jeff Thingstad’s resignation), beginning for the Sept. meeting. The person will serve until the next Annual Congregational Meeting.
For information, see Linda Sander or any member of council.
-We are looking forward to Peter Hinz giving an evening presentation on his geological trip to Hawaii, as he did several Lents ago re Iceland.
-Next meeting: Tues. Sept. 13, 5:00 p.m.
FINANCES
Thank you for your faith-led giving! Unfortunately, in June we slipped below our budgeted goal for offerings. During the summer, please prayerfully and joyfully support the church with your gifts, so that sharing the gifts of God the Spirit helps us continue our mission to serve the world.
June Offerings:
$ 8,410.00
Budgeted Offerings:
$ 9,480.78
Monthly Offerings Year to date:
$ 54,933.00
Budgeted Offerings, Year to date:
$ 56,884.68
Cleaning Fund
Received in 2022: $1455.00
Budgeted to date: $1650.00
Thank you for your gifts to this fund. We use your donations to employ a part-time custodian to maintain our building for church and community use. Please help us to fully cover this cost by designating a special offering for the ‘Cleaning Fund’, as you are able.
Forward in Mission
Received in 2022: $1,380.00
2022 goal: $2,500.00
Thank you for continuing to move us closer to being abie to fully fund our partners in mission, as adopted by our Annual Meeting.
Four of our partners provide food for those in our community:
-Thunder Bay Food Bank $400
- Dew Drop Inn $500
-Current River Food Bank $150
-Gathering Table Food Cupboard $150
Building Fund
Our donations help us have a dedicated reserve to maintain our property when the ‘unexpected’ happens. When planning indicates a major project is needed, a Congregational Meeting can set a specific goal for giving to the fund.
Balance, Jan. 1/22: $5,606.80
Received in 2022: $1,085.00
Expenditures: In March, we spent $2,588 for our annual maintenance agreement for our platform lift. Gifts to replenish the fund are appreciated.
Options for Giving
During in-person worship you are able to share your offerings at the entrance to the sanctuary. Envelopes for your 2022 Sunday and special offerings are available. To pick up your set, to sign up, or if your contact information has changed, please call the office.
Other ways:
1. Mail envelopes to the church
Mailing address: 10 Farrand St. Thunder Bay P7A 3H5
2. Drop envelopes off at church
You can drop off envelopes in the mailbox beside the parking lot doors. Calling is appreciated, so that the offering can be brought inside.
3. E-Transfer online banking
to osimm.office@tbaytel.net
4. Pre-Authorized Withdrawal (PAR)
You are able to have offerings deposited from your financial institution to the church. You can designate it Weekly, Building, and/or Forward in Mission. To sign up, or if you desire to make changes or if you have updates on your address or financial institution, call the office.
Ukraine Crisis Response
Thank you for your donations, totalling about $1,000 so far.
CLWR continues its appeal to raise funds and rush emergency assistance to the over 4 million refugees who have fled Ukraine and the 6.5 million people who are internally displaced.
To donate to this appeal, include it with your offerings, designated ‘CLWR Ukraine’, or visit www.clwr.org.
Hunger Crisis
Global hunger is surging. More than 50 million people are facing starvation. The needs are enormous, but we can all do something.
Together with the Humanitarian Coalition, CLWR is appealing for donations to respond to a historic hunger crisis. As a record 50 million people are on the brink of starvation, the Government of Canada is matching donations from Canadians to provide emergency assistance.
Your gift today will be doubled to provide life-saving aid in countries like Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan which are facing years of drought, climate shocks and supply disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine.
You can make a difference — please give generously!
To donate to this appeal, include it with your offerings, designated ‘CLWR Hunger Crisis’, or visit www.clwr.org.
Luther Village – Church Camp!
Head over to our online booking system at www.luthervillage.ca .
We still have lots of cabin and campground rentals available throughout the summer and fall. We even have some spots available for FAMILY CAMP!
Lawn Mowing
Thank you to Ken Boegh for setting up the list of volunteers for cutting the lawns. This year we have decided to leave the side hills ‘fallow’, to enable us to enjoy the beauty of nature, and to ensure safety for those mowing. We still need volunteers for July 11-24, Aug. 22-28, Sept. 5-18, and Sept. 20-Oct.3. Please see Ken!
Yard Sale
Thank you to all who donated to, helped out at, and bought from, our parking lot Yard Sale on Sat. June 11. We raised $385, presently set aside for a special maintenance project.