1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity

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OUR MISSION AND VISION: “EVERYONE COUNTS!”
Common Ground is a United Methodist
Community that seeks to follow the example of Christ by
valuing one another and showing respect for all. Our
inclusive spirit is open to all forms of diversity including
ethnic, economic, sexual, theological, addictive
behaviors, special needs and all others. Our progressive
theology considers the well-being of everyone by
creating a nurturing and spiritually alive environment that
encourages spiritual freedom and a culture of diversity,
where all are welcome.
OUR FOUR CORE VALUES:
Everyone Communicating-Everyone Growing-Everyone Accountable-Everyone Serving
MAY 2015
Upcoming Events
Pastor: Jean Rollin
Administrative Assistant: Denise Tillges
Bookkeeper/Accounting: Denise Tillges
Custodian: Mark Simmons
Choir Director: Frank Wells
Organist: Dorcie Larson
May 17—Confirmation Sunday: We invite everyone to come and celebrate with those youth who are
joining Common Ground this year. This will also be the last Sunday that the Choir sings in worship.
May 24—Pentecost: Please join us in worship and help celebrate the fire of Holy Spirit.
May 27 - May 29— MN United Methodist Annual Conference Reminder: Steve Knight and Pastor
Jean will be attending the conference in St. Cloud from May 27-29. Pastor Jean be attending some
pre-conference events starting Tuesday, May 26th.
Administrative Office Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m.
Phone: 763-689-2071
Pastor Jean: pastorjean@commongroundumc.org
Church Email: openhearts@commongroundumc.org
Accountant: accounting@commongroundumc.org
Website: www.commongroundumc.org
May 31 – Sr. Recognition Sunday: Come and support our graduating for high school seniors.
See you there!
CELEBRATE
MAY
BIRTHDAYS
2—Judy Lundeen
5—Michael Andres
6—Vicki Ostrom
7—Alex Armstrong
9—Logan Carlile
MAY ANNIVERSARIES
17—Jeff Andres
20—Jenna Kirkeide
11—Mike & Vickie Sorn
21—Cathy Conrad & Dave Bosanko
22—Steve Knight
21—Art & Leah Volker
25—Don & Florence Robbins
24—Dorcie Larson
26—Warren & Marlys Schluck 30—Bob & Bonnie Boese
26—Rylin Nellis
28– Sue Ann Muller
COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS
30—Virginia Erickson
30—Richard Larson
Date
Kitchen Crew
5/3
Harriet Harp
Betty Lawrence
5/10
Sue Wuerflein
OPEN
Ashley & Darlene Dupre
10– Dennis Rennaker
10—Harriet Harp
13—Rev. Diane Nelson
13– Fred Nolan
14—Janice Graham
5/17
5/24
15– Quinn Geving
15—Andy Jagodzinski
5/31
16—Erika Knight
12
Annie Lindsay
Rosemary Wilson
Sheila Oldenburg
Pat Fleck
Ashley Hanson
Joyce Wallace
Pat Roddy
Treat Providers
Garth & Adriana Wilson
OPEN
Dean & Jane Wedekind
OPEN
ANNUAL CONFERENCE LOVE OFFERING INFORMATION – Please be generous!
Each year Common Ground has collected money to go towards the Love Offering that is then submitted at Annual
Conference. We will be collecting money on Sundays— May 3 and 10 and we will have special envelopes for you to
use. You may also mail in your contribution.
The 2015 Annual Conference theme is "God's Vision, Our Mission—Unleashed" and funds from this year's Love
Offering will go to three projects that will help us answer God's call to heal a broken world.
Here's a look at the 2015 Love Offering recipients:
Grace Children's Center in Vietnam (Recipient of 60 percent of 2015 Love Offering)
The Love Offering will help expand Grace Children’s Center in Ho Chi Minh City.
Church-School Partnership Grants (Recipient of 30 percent of 2015 Love Offering)
The conference’s Mission Promotion Team is launching a grant program that will provide
funding to individual congregations to help them develop such partnerships.
Volunteers in Mission Scholarships (Recipient of 10 percent of 2015 Love Offering)
Mission trips change the lives of participants by giving them an opportunity to grow in their faith and
gain a new perspective of the world.
As United Methodists, we work cooperatively to do things that no single congregation could do nearly
as well. Thanks for your generosity.
--Grounds Crew (Missions/Outreach) Ministry Team
1
Musings from Pastor Jean - May 2015
“The Building Committee and How to Pray, Part II: Listening”
This month I have two different topics that I would
like to share with you.
First, although Steve Knight is doing a separate
report on the work of the Building Committee, which is
working under the direction of the Leadership Council in
implementing the results of the Count Me In! Capital Campaign, I personally want to share with you what a joy it
has been for me to meet with this group and see them
taking your wishes, your support, and your goals from the
campaign and working hard to make them a reality for you.
From their efforts to find a fix for the water problem
in the basement, to the WIFI changes and upgrade, to finding an architect and design for the accessible bathroom, the
Building Committee is working on your behalf. I am hopeful
that you will start seeing some results of their efforts this
summer as we get into the work schedules of those doing
the work. As the prioritized list is implemented in the ranked
order, more of the items will be dealt with as we determine
where we are money-wise in being able to carry through our
desires. We are still in the discovery stage for some of the
items in terms of actual costs. The final dollar figure for Priority 1 – the basement - will not be known until we find out if
what is being done will complete the job. As in any building
work, they may discover other issues once they get into the
project. But we have high hopes that the current solution will
finally take care of the problem. We are confident that what
they have already discovered is work that needs to be done.
The Leadership Council will be appraised at its next meeting of what has already been discovered. Anyone is welcome to come to those meetings on the 4th Tuesday of the
month at 7:00 p.m.
Please know that the money already paid from
your pledges will help us to expedite getting started since
otherwise we will have to have a Charge Conference at the
point that we need to take out a loan (which we will ultimately have to do). Anyone who can pay ahead on their
pledge is invited to do so for it will mean we do not
have to take out a loan so quickly. We really appreciate
your efforts to keep up with your pledge schedule. Your last
financial statement mailing from the church sent in April
contains the information of where you are in both your
pledges (yearly and campaign).
Folks, you should be excited and proud to know
what is being done for you. Good things are coming!
Second, last month I talked about “How to Pray”, with
the special focus on praying out loud in public, something all
of us are called to be able to do. My brother David, who lives
in Hermantown, outside of Duluth, joked with me at our family
Easter dinner that this month I should talk about how to listen
as a follow-up to that discussion. [I discovered at Easter that
my whole family reads the newsletter to see what we/I am
doing! So folks from Hermantown to St. Paul to Cleveland, OH
and elsewhere are reading this!] While my first response was
to laugh, upon further thought, I realized that he was right. So
this next part of my Musings is “How to Pray, Part II: Listening”.
Listening is an important part of prayer. After all,
as I said last month, prayer is dialogue – a conversation
with God. And we all know that for relationships to grow,
communication has to occur. That is true for God, too! We
also know that when GOOD communication occurs, both
sides are sharing AND listening.
Before I go farther, I want to offer a caveat. I am NOT
an expert authority on this, nor am I going to say that what I
am offering is the whole or final truth. [Actually, I don’t think
anyone can honestly claim that!] What I am offering is my experience both personally, and what I have heard, read and
seen in over 25 years of ministry. That said, let me share
some basic listening concepts. A couple of paragraphs
from what I said last month need to be repeated with some
additions in order to set the stage for discussing listening in
prayer.
Feeling easy about praying out loud (or silently) is
mostly accomplished by doing it and doing it frequently. No
one starts out knowing how to pray. We learn by repetition, by
listening to others and then experimenting. Believe me, God
WANTS us to experiment with praying! God is not looking
for perfection, just sincerity! It really helps if you think
about prayer as a conversation with God. Conversations occur when one person speaks, the other listens and then responds. Prayer is exactly like that! We pray/share, we listen,
and we respond! Repeat.
And prayer is also done not just out loud, but in a
number of ways: breathing, walking, dancing, singing, yelling,
shouting, crying, writing, drawing and speaking and in silence
or meditation. Prayer can occur under any circumstance and
in any situation. There are all kinds of prayers. There are
prayers of thanks, of need, of praying for others, of asking for
2
Thank You!!…

Our thanks to our Organist, Dorcie Larson, Choir director, Frank Wells, and
the Senior Choir who helped with the services during Holy Week. We
thank you for your extra time and attention to help make these services
extra special.

We also give thanks to our own Altar Decorators -Susan Blom and Vicki
Ostrom, for their significant visuals during worship and their extra efforts
during Holy Week at all of the special services.

We thank the many people who work hard planning behind the scenes
and also those who step in at the last minute in reading, ushering, and
greeting, etc. who help make worship during holy Week an experience
that you want to come back for. You are numerous and we are grateful.

Our thanks to all who purchased the beautiful flowers so that our chancel
could be decorated for Easter!

Thanks to all who contributed to and/or helped with the Easter Egg Hunt.

Thanks to all who provided soup and bread for the Lenten Soup Suppers.

Thanks to all who helped with the Stompin Ground Coffee Concert and
the leadership of Frank and Julie Wells with the concert, Tawyna Hoffman
with the kitchen goodies, Leah and Art Volker for the coffee and all who
pitched in and helped, all who provided goodies and those who helped
to set up, serve and take down.

Thank you to Mary Norton-Larson for donating the fabric to recover the
bulletin boards in the hallway.

Our thanks to all who participated and helped with the 36th Annual Salad
Luncheon! We couldn’t do it without you! We served about 400 people.
The money that was taken in will be divided between camperships and
funding emerging ministry opportunities.

Our thanks to Mitch & Ashley Otto for the
fantastic signage on the front lawn for the
Salad Luncheon.
11
Path to Home May Update
As we prepare for our next Path to Home Host Week—beginning June 14, 2015, new pillow covers are
being purchased and 4 new floor lamps will be available for our families staying in the center rooms in the
church basement. This is possible due to the generous donations of the Common Ground Community.
Blessings to all.
Our host week in February was fantastic! All three youth groups (Spirit River Community, Joy Lutheran and
Common Ground) participated in evening meals and hosting evening activities. On Saturday, the fathers and children were
invited to a movie at Cambridge theatre. Thank you Dean W. for your kindness. All the kids were so uplifted by Sponge Bob!
During the week, we also had a very special visitor: Smokie the Bear was in the neighborhood and made an appearance at the
birthday party for our 2 year old guest! Talk about wide-eyed and amazed. This came about due to Greg Weurflein's generousity as the DNR was using the building for the day. And Greg kindly steered Smokie in our direction! It was a treat for
all...young and old!
As we prepare for our Host Week in June, please check your summer schedules. We will need the same man hours during our
week in the summer as we need during the winter. We will set up on Sunday June 14, 2015 at 11am and take down on Father's Day. Is anyone interested in putting together a special activity on Saturday morning for the Dads in P2H? Check in with
me, please!
In October we host again from Sunday October 11, 2015 to Sunday, October 18, 2015 - Columbus Day.
In January we host Sunday, January 3, 2016 to Sunday, January 10, 2016.
Now for a rather difficult request to all of you: I am in need of of 2 - 3 people to act as co-coordinators to cover evening
check-in from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. I ask that you commit to being available during each host
week for 2 or 3 evenings (working together with each other to cover the evenings). My passion is the serving the breakfasts
and making sure each person is sent off with a smile on their face each morning. As Dick and Kay counselled me a few years
ago: " When you take on the role as coordinator you have to commit the entire week to the program and the needs of the
guests." Now I am asking each of you to search in your heart and to lift up prayers as we continue this ministry.
Peace to all and thank you.
Jane Benjamin, Path to Home Coordinator
Ramadan Dinner Invitation
June 30th—Tuesday
Our friends from the Islamic Resource Group
have invited us to attend a free Iftar dinner during the month of Ramadan. Although many Twin
Cities Mosques will entertain people from all over the Twin Cities throughout the month of Ramadan, the best one for the people of Cambridge will
be the one in Blaine.
The date for the event is on Tuesday June 30 (for the Blaine Masjid).
The dinner will be after the evening (Sundown) prayers, however before
sundown, there will be a short talk on Ramadan and what it means for
Muslims. The event is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Council of Churches. These events will be publicized in the local media of the Twin cities.
People must register to get a proper headcount. And as mentioned before,
the event is free.
The dinner will be quite late, since Ramadan is in the middle of the
longest days of the year these days. Muslims will break their fasts at sundown, after not eating or drinking anything for around 17 hours or so.
More information will be provided as the date approaches.
10
Let’s
Play
Ball!!
Sofball season is here!
Our first game will be on
Tuesday, May 5th at
7:00 p.m. at Karmel Covenant Church.
Come and cheer on our
Common Ground Team!!
(Please check your bulletins for upcoming game information.)
wisdom, of seeking help, of seeking clarity and asking for
healing, etc. All are good and valuable. No prayer is “stupid”
when one is honestly trying to communicate.”
I want you to pay attention to your driving! Walking or riding
your bicycle allows you to mind your steps, but not put others in danger. What do you see that surprises you? What
sorts of unexpected gifts are being presented to you visually, or through what you hear from nature? Is there anything
that is occurring to you? God may be speaking to you. Personally I am moved by the sound of water – in listening to
fountains or streams or waterfalls. What kinds of things in
nature move you? Open yourself to them and listen. What
comes to you?
So what does “listening” to God look like? Some
of you may wonder since God communicates with us in a variety of ways, many which may not be obvious to us.
While listening can occur in a variety of ways, let
me suggest one way that may not be easy for some of you,
but is a good way to help you focus on listening if the whole
idea of intentionally listening to God is new to you, or isn’t
something you have done in awhile. Listen in silence. That’s
right. Shut off all music, the TV, radio, or any other devices
that may distract you and sit in silence. This concept of silence may be a difficult thing for some of you who have sound
as a constant background in your life. Let yourself try this and
see what happens. You may be surprised!
Once you have experimented with silence, you can
add things back into your efforts. For some, listening intently
to a piece of classical music may be moving and give
some insights. Feelings can be a way that God communicates. While everyone’s musical tastes are going to vary
widely, make sure what you are listening to while trying to
listen to God isn’t something that will take you off into an
opposite direction! Lots of music isn’t going to be positive,
so be selective.
In silence, deliberately open yourself to God and tell
God that you are open to hearing what God may want to
share with you. You can ask a specific question of God or just
be open in general. Both are worthy ways of praying. Sometimes it helps to focus on your breathing – the inhale and the
exhale. Breathe deeply, it not only is good for you, but it also
opens you to allowing something else to enter!
Sometimes I have found God speaking to me
through the words of others as I read and reflect. Truths
will hit me and I know that God is saying something to me,
through another’s words. Again, like with music, be selective
about what you choose to read when trying to listen for God.
Not all writings are helpful.
Make sure you are seated in a comfortable position
(although prayer can happen under any circumstance and in
any place, this is one way to be intentional). Imagine that God
is pouring white light over you and absorb that white light into
your body. Listening in these moments may be recognizing
that letting go of some stress may be a gift that God is offering
to you.
Obviously, reading the bible can be helpful, especially if you don’t try to read too much, but take a section
and reflect upon what words jump out at you. Read it out
loud and see what occurs. Reading the gospels in this way
can be an interesting exercise. What jumps out at you may
be something that God is trying to communicate to you. Or,
read the Psalms and find ones that are helpful.
As you sit in silence, do you find that your thoughts
are offering something to you? It may be that in those
thoughts, God is communicating. If something occurs to you,
and especially if it occurs more than once, you may want to
write it down for further reflection. Sometimes new ideas, new
directions, new understandings come when we write down
our thoughts.
God also communicates with us through others.
Do you have folks in your life with whom you can have
deep, open, and honest dialogue? If so, you are blessed. I
believe that God works through others to talk to us. Seek
out those people and have regular conversations where
both of you can share and listen. Do they offer some wisdom that just feels “right”? Listen to your gut instinct about
what is being shared. If it feels like “truth”, then God is
speaking.
For those of you who find sitting still to be an impossibility, or you are more kinesthetic in your approach to life, take
a walk in silence and do the same things. The whole point is
to allow yourself to focus on listening instead of being distracted by noise.
Journaling, or writing down your thoughts and
ideas is another way of both praying and listening. Are there
things that just keep coming to you? Sometimes those ideas
may be God’s way of getting your attention.
You can also take a walk/ride a bike and make a point
of paying attention to the creation that is all around you.
While I also talk to God when I am driving long distances on
highways, I am not recommending it as an exercise because
Have you ever prayed just before going to sleep?
In your prayer, set before God what it is that you need help
(Musing Continued on Page 4)
3
(Musing Continued from Page 3)
with, or are in need of an answer. Sleep on it. Does anything occur to you upon waking the next day?
God may be speaking to you through dreams or with what occurs to you when you wake up.
If you haven’t heard about TED Talks, you want to find them on the internet. I lift these up because sometimes the topics are particularly inspiring. All are interesting, but some have me feeling as though the person is
channeling some communication from God to the world.
I could go on and on, but I hope by now you are getting a flavor of what listening to God is all about. It really is about
being mindful, of being intentional, of being open to what may occur when we open ourselves to God. We all can get
so immersed in our lives, so busy, so overwhelmed that we leave no room for God to reach out to us.
The UCC church has as part of its statement “God is still speaking”. I claim that statement, too. I believe that God IS
still speaking and speaks to us all of the time. The problem is usually that we are not listening, or don’t recognize God’s voice
when we do hear it/experience it.
Listening to God may be something that needs to be cultivated. Just like those who plant flowers or vegetables know
that in order to get a good crop you have to water, feed and weed, so, too, does listening to God require attention and diligence. The more you try it, the easier it will become. Anyone who has ever learned to play a musical instrument knows that it
is difficult in the beginning, but with practice, music is created and can be enjoyed. Prayer is like learning an instrument, we
need to exercise our prayer/listening “fingers” until it becomes second nature.
As I stated in the beginning, these are only some possibilities. What have you experienced? What else might you suggest? Let me know what you discover, I am very interested in finding out if anything I have suggested has been helpful to you.
God is speaking to you. Are you listening?
In mindfulness,
Pastor Jean
Stompin’ Grounds Coffee Concert Report
The first Stompin’ Grounds Coffee House Concert made its debut
at Common Ground on Saturday, April 11th. This fund-raising event was
highly successful, bringing people together for an evening of desserts,
coffee, and music. It was a great opportunity for the people of Common
Ground to fellowship, have fun, and invite people from the wider community to join us for an evening. Over a hundred people enjoyed an
evening of musical entertainment, with over $1,700 raised for Imagine
No Malaria and our own sound equipment needs.
The music was anchored by the new band, “Group Therapy” (Susan Blom, Rob Lininger, Kathy
Jones, Julie Wells, & Frank Wells). Other acts included appearances by Larry Ostrom, Ben Wuerflein,
Jean Rollin, Bryan Wells, Leah Volker, Jean Knight, Ellen Siewert, Monte Dybvig, Lowell Becker, and
the Common Ground Choir. It took the combined efforts of a lot of people to make the night run so
smoothly, from desserts and coffee to decorations and clean-up. We would like to give a big “thank you”
to everyone involved, including: Dorcie Larson, Leah & Art Volker, Tawnya Hoffmann, Vicki Ostrom,
Mary Norton-Larson, Randy Wallace, Dave Bosanko, Justin Kennedy, Eric Anderson, Denise Tillges,
Mark Simmons, Erika Knight, Pastor Jean, and members of
the Choir.
THANK YOU ALL!!
If you were there, you know how much fun it was. If you
missed it, plan to join us for the next Stompin’ Grounds!
4
Board of Trustees-physical plant
$
40,400
$
7,615
Total Expense
$
243,500
$
58,545
Income - Expense
$
4,532
$
(748)
In the Dedicated Accounts:
 The big news is the $83,119 in capital campaign donations received in the first quarter of 2015. There
were donations from individuals wishing to take advantage of 2014 tax deductions which were credited to
Common Ground in January. Monthly pledges are coming in at about $4,000 a month.
 Dedicated accounts and savings have grown by $85,704 since December 31.
 Our savings balance is $126,179.
 Thank you to all who are using the capital pledge envelopes and clearly indicating special offerings.
Common Ground Dedicated Accounts as of March 31
Beginning
1/1/2015
Balances
YTD 2015
Receipts
YTD 2015
Expenses
Balance
3/31/2015
Balances
General Fund
Hospitality
Harvest and Holly
Youth Ministry
Salad Luncheon
Missions-Outreach
Path to Home
Prayer Shawl Ministry
Non-Budgeted Gifts
Memorials
Over 50 Group
Crisis/Emergency
Van and Bus Fund
Kitchen Improvements
$1,224.31
$0
$0
$1,224.31
$8,462.74
$20.00
$0.00
$8,482.74
$1,636.67
$208.00
$740.00
$0
$233.81
$0
$2,142.86
$208.00
General Fund Total
$7,864.33
$30.73
$6,754.80
$3,793.71
$75.00
$30,050.59
$25.00
$0
$1,800.00
$0
$0
$2,585.00
$0
$0.00
$2,100.00
$0
$0
$2,333.81
$7,889.63
$30.73
$6,454.80
$3,793.71
$75.00
$30,301.78
Physical Plant
Other Income
Roof & Building Envelope Repair
Lighting Loan
Capital Campaign
$7,766.22
$32.15
$3,700.00
$0
$0
$83,119.17
$0
$0
$50.00
$7,766.22
$32.15
$86,801.32
Total for Dedicated Accounts
$41,648.96
$85,704.17
$2,383.81
$124,969.32
Road Construction Update
Road construction is now underway and will continue until September . Please allow some
extra time and to have patience as we will not know from day-to-day when Cypress is open
or closed beginning June 15 or so when it comes in front of us down to Hwy 95.
Please use the Birch Street Lot when possible. The NE door will be open when Cypress is closed so that you can park in the Birch lot and enter there.
9
2015 Spring Financial Report, March 31
UPDATE ON 5 YEAR IMAGINE NO MALARIA PLEDGE
By Fred Nolan, Finance Chair and Financial Secretary
This is were we stand on our $15,000 5 year INM Pledge:
THANK YOU to the 117 families and individuals who have contributed $134,630 to the
capital campaign, general fund, missions and activities of the Common Ground: A United Methodist Community
in the first quarter of 2015. $83,119 of that were contributions to the capital campaign and $51,511 to the General
Fund.
In the General Fund the 73 pledging givers need to be acknowledged for providing over 80% of the total
giving, all givers, individual gifts and donations—even for coffee and rental fees are needed to pay our bills, salaries, maintain the church building, and carry out the missions of the CUMC. A special thanks to the 11 families
and individuals who completed an estimate of giving card for 2015 who had not done so in 2014.
Common Ground March 31, 2015 General Fund Giving and Income Summary
$ 51,511
$
485
$ 3,166
Offering Giving (pledged and non-pledged)
Coffee
Special Offerings including No More Malaria
Van, Bus, Room & hall rental and other income
Total General Fund Income from all sources
$
2,533
$ 57,796
In the General Fund:
 Giving is up in in the first quarter of 2015 as compared to 2014 by $3,647 (7.6%), and total income is up
$7,547 (15%)
 Expenditures are running 25% of budget for the first quarter of the year which is to be expected.
 The result is we operated at a slight deficit of ($748) for the first quarter of the year. Our checking account
balance was $48,159 as of April 17.
 I do project Common Ground should run slightly in the black in 2015. That confidence comes from the 70
families and individuals who have pledged 85% of the budget, the reduction of $13,000 in budgeted expenditures from 2014 to 2015, and the winter of 2015 that was easy on our snow plowing and grounds
budget.
Common Ground 2015 Budget and YTD Actual Expenditures as of March 31
Expenditure Category
Expenses for Events
$
2015
Budget
-
Worship
$
2,080
2015
YTD Actual
$
324
$
891
Hospitality
$
1,500
$
80
Kitchen
$
50
$
0
Education
$
2,200
$
565
Youth Ministry
$
1,000
$
60
Imagine No Malaria
$
3,000
$
784
Missions - Outreach
Apportionments
Library
$
$
$
0
8,000
0
$
$
$
1,438
2,000
0
Finance Committee
$
780
$
0
SPRC Administration
$
16,710
$
4,258
SPRC Salaries
$
$
131,312
23,386
$
$
33,504
6,786
SPRC Benefits
page 9)
8
2013: $3,000.00
2014: $3,000.00
2015: $1,281.77
Total to date submitted: $11,612.25
Balance left of $15,000 Pledge: $3,387.75
We took in $845 (half of what was collected) from the coffee concert that has not been sent to
the conference office yet, which would bring our total for 2015 to $2,126.77 and bring out balance down to $2,542.75.
May Hidden Talents
Bible Banter on the
Book of Revelation
With John Clay
Continues on Sunday
Mornings
Thursday, May 21, 7:00 p.m.
Come and join us Thursday. May 21, at
7:00 p.m., and learn how to make a purse
size hand bound note book.
Our current session will continue
thru May 24th. Come and join us for
a lively discussion in Room 2-3 at
A New Ministry Opportunity:
Common Ground Marketing
Ministry Team
Needed: A few good communicators to help develop a marketing plan for Common
Ground. We need to get out
there and let the community
know who we are and what
we're doing.
(Continued on
2012: $4,330.48
Jean Knight, Leadership Council Chair, is asking people to be
on this new ministry team.
Please prayerfully consider saying YES when asked to participate in this new endeavor!
Our June meeting will be learning to knit. It
will be Thursday, June 11, at 7:00 p.m. We would
appreciate it if some of the participants would help bring
treats for us all to share. We will not have any group activities for the rest of the summer, but look forward to
starting again in the fall. Please be thinking of things you
would like to learn, or teach then. We know you have a
wealth of ideas to share!
Contact Vivian Oliver at 763-250-3064 for
more information.
Registration is now open for the 2015 camp season and there
are a lot of great camps to choose from.
New this year, for each new camper you or your child brings to
camp in 2015, your event fee will be reduced by $25.
You can register online at:
http://cwngui.campwise.com/Customer/MNUMC
Or pick up a camp brochure from the bin the hall way by the
kitchen or from the office.
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Building Committee Report
The Building Committee has completed some exploratory work to
evaluate the source of the water problem in the basement. Brian Nelson
from T&T Water Proofing and Brian’s Insulation and Keegan Olson, a local
mason helped us to evaluate the problem. The investigation clearly
shows the major source of water is the lack of proper brick flashing where
the brick sets on the concrete block foundation wall. This is a construction defect, but it
would be impossible to resolve a claim after all these years.
The repair work will involve removing about 16” of brick at the bottom of the brick wall.
The building team is currently working with the local contractors to develop a detailed plan
of repair. We are thinking it would be better from both a cost and appearance standpoint
to select a new brick or block color for the replacement material that will go back in the lower 16”. This will eliminate the need to match the existing brick.
For more information about Youth Activities, please contact Erika Knight
at 612-232-1255 or erikajeanknight@gmail.com.
Youth Group Schedule
Wednesdays from 7-8:15 p.m.
We will meet on May 6, 13, 20 and 27.
Youth Advisory Team
The Building Committee will be providing additional updates on the basement work in
the next two weeks.
I am looking for 6-8 people to help me plan youth events/activities and
curriculum for Fall of 2015 through Summer of 2016. This group will meet 6-8 times
from May to August. We will plan events together for a whole year. I am looking for
a minimum of 2 youth, 2 parents and 2 other adults. Anyone is welcome to join us and
share your input!
The Building Committee is in the process of selecting an Architect to work with us on the
restroom remodel project. We have one proposal and are waiting for two additional proposals before making the final decision.
The Building Committee is also working on the WiFi project. We have wiring proposals in
hand and are working out the remaining details on phasing the project. Our goal is to complete the WiFi project over the summer.
-Steve Knight, Building Committee
Our first meeting will be on May 17 at noon, I will provide lunch!
Thank you! Easter Egg Hunt Success
What is the Grounds Keepers Committee?
Galatians 6:10 states that whenever we have an opportunity, we
should work for the good of all. God empowers us to serve others with
a compassionate heart. Grounds Keepers’ primary mission is to encourage the connection of members to each other so we can truly be a
church family. Everyone does count. That means we take care of each
other and ensure members get connected with the resources they
need.
We recently completed a member survey to gather information
about individuals’ needs, the ways people are willing to assist others, and who is already connected within the church. Thank you to all who participated in this process. Your time and input is greatly appreciated and this information will be very important as we carry out our work.
As a congregation, it should be our goal to show loving and deliberate acts of kindness every day. A congregation whose members walk as Jesus walked and focus on people should surely
be a magnet to this community. Is this not a picture of God’s way for the family of Christ?
Penny Messer & Bonnie Boese, Co-Chairs Grounds Keepers
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Thanks to everyone who donated candy, invited people to our Easter Egg
Hunt and especially those who came to help! We had about 40 kids
searching for Eggs, which were hidden all over the building. We also had
crafts, cookies and games. It was so much fun!
CHILDREN’S
CHURCH
SCHEDULE
FOR MAY
2015
May 3—Children’s Church
May 10—Children’s Church
May 17—Children’s Church
May 24—Children’s Churh
(Last Class)
Did you know?
Our Annual Salad Luncheon raises funds to help
YOU go to camp?
Common Ground provides any member with
$25/day to help with camp registration costs, extra
funds are available to those in need as well. All you
have to do is sign up for a United Methodist camp, and then fill our a campership form and turn it in to Erika or Denise. Common Ground will write a
check to the Camping Office and send to the Conference Office.
Check out camp offerings at www.campminnesota.org!
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