A change of pace: Games Lake Park worship service (VIDEO)

This was a nice change of pace from the hectic running involved with spring sports and school year-end activities. The video below was recorded yesterday at Games Lake park at the start of the Norway Lake Lutheran parish's park worship.

VIDEO:


The wind was ferocious. Even though I had my tripod weighed down, the wind still almost took it down twice. During Pastor John Clementson's sermon, the wind grabbed a couple pages of his sermon notes and gave them a ride. Yikes! (They were retrieved and brought back to him mid-sermon.) It was a challenging environment for outdoor worship, but roughly 100 people were in attendance - and it was worth the hassle of fighting the wind!

In the music processional, Joyce Rudningen was one of the adults who created music with the handheld instruments. Joyce is a Brooten high school graduate, and B-B-E's athletic teams have done battle against many of her grandchildren in recent years who play for the K-M-S Fighting Saints. She was Community Education director at B-B-E for many years before retiring in 2007.

On another topic...this came to me earlier this morning and I wanted to share it right away. This organization is seeking donations for a very worthy cause. Click to read about it: https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/5581238. The team raising the funds is led by Tony Hofmann, who was a 1984 Brooten high school graduate. Another team member is Gary Geer, a 1985 BHS graduate and a father of Nate Geer. Nate Geer was a sophomore on this past year's varsity football and track and field teams.

Coming tonight: B-B-E's school board meets
The school board has an ambitious agenda that has a lengthy list of what I'd refer to as smaller items. I predict we just may go past the usual one hour that these meetings usually take. I like the flow of our school board meetings. It is nice for a newspaper owner whose time is measured by the minute! The biggest news I see is the resignation of four full-time licensed teachers, ranging from two elementary classroom teachers plus two specialized teachers. If I can pull off what I hope to pull off, you can read more in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

In another resignation, the elementary is losing one of its janitors. I learned a little more here, and he's been a great asset to the school and has always been pleasant to interact with...Adam Tauber is heading to significantly greener pastures for income in the neighborhood of $30 an hour. I am not sure exactly where janitor pay is at B-B-E, but I know it's not competitive with what local industries are paying for manual skill jobs. I don't say that to criticize the school, but I'm saying it as a matter of fact. For the sake of informing the public, I'll get the figure for starting pay for a custodian position at B-B-E for the newspaper.

Another resignation is from Mike Brower as JV boys' basketball coach. I know it was a tough decision for him, but he has the pull of his own children coming up in the ranks as the driver for stepping down from the No. 2 position in the program. He will be dearly missed!

It's Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of the 40-day journey for the Easter season. Today is a day of fasting and repentance for Christians, where we acknowledge that upon death, our bodies return to the earth. The sign of the cross marked on our foreheads marks the same sign of the cross marked at the time of our baptism into the Christian faith.

Click on the following short link to watch the online worship at Norway Lake Lutheran parish for Ash Wednesday: https://bit.ly/3qwRoSv.

Church-related news...and state video

This message is from the Norway Lake Lutheran parish, dated Saturday morning (today):

After consultation with the leadership of East Norway Lake Lutheran Church and First Lutheran Church of Norway Lake, the decision has been made to suspend worship services, educational and all other activities on Sunday March 15 and Wednesday, March 18. This decision follows the recommendations of the Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services.

The leadership recommends that we revisit this decision on a weekly basis. As of now, we will keep the Norway Lake Parish office open during the week. Pastor Wayne will be available for pastoral care and pastoral visits and can be contacted at 320-841-1951.

We encourage you to practice appropriate protocols of frequent hand washing with soap and water, sneezing and coughing into the elbow and not hand, and if you are ill, stay home until you are fully recovered.

Please view our parish website, educational Facebook page and KWLM Covid-19 web site for further information.

Please remember in prayer all who are ill, all medical personnel and others who are making difficult decisions at this trying time.

*Here's a video clip featuring part of the starter introductions at the state tournament on Thursday in Minneapolis:


I hope you've been able to go outside and enjoy the sunshine!

Norway Lake Lutheran Historical Association celebration

Here's some local history and church-related news! Click (short link) at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://bit.ly/2Ml2yJV. Additional coverage will be in this week's Voice.

(VIDEO) Handel's 'Hallelujah Choir'

As promised in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice, here's the video from Easter Sunday sunrise service at East Norway Lake Lutheran church (short link): https://bit.ly/2DBWOW1.


*If you are wondering about the fire north of Brooten seen to the north, it is a prescribed burn. It is located northwest of Grove Lake, and it involves hundreds of acres.

I personally looked, and yes...they do have it under control.

Easter Sunday

Later this evening I'll have video posted from Easter Sunday worship.


...and here is one clip! I decided to use the best one from East Norway Lake Lutheran's Easter sunrise service...it includes the ENL choir singing George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" 

The song begins at about the five-minute mark here:


As they do year after year, they were MAGNIFICENT!

(VIDEO) Thanksgiving Eve worship

Here's part of the reading of the lessons and then Gospel, followed by the sermon by Pastor Wayne Kopitzke at First Lutheran Church of Norway Lake last night in rural New London:

Happy Thanksgiving, Jaguar Country!!!

(VIDEO) Worship at the park

Here's a link to the Bonanza Valley Voice website, where you can take in part of the park service on Labor Day weekend at Games Lake. The Norway Lake Lutheran parish of rural New London hosted their final service of the summer season that day.

Coverage on this service appeared in the Sept. 6 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice:
https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/09/06/regional/worship-at-the-park/699.html

Park service will resume next year, Memorial Day weekend!

(Videos) Musical ...and pioneer-style worship

Below is video from near the end of Act I at the B-B-E high school production of the musical 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown' on November 19:


Photos from the musical were published in the November 23 and 30 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

And here's video from this afternoon in rural Norway Lake:


Additional photos from this afternoon's worship service at the Old Log Church will be in the upcoming issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. I hope you're a subscriber!!  http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/0025.1.724429030274818909/subscribe

AND don't forget! Tomorrow night (Monday) is the B-B-E high school's 7th-12th grade Christmas choral/band concert at 7 p.m.

(Video) Children's sermon

Here's the children's sermon by Pastor Wayne Kopitzke at East Norway Lake Lutheran church on Wednesday night:


How was your family Thanksgiving?

(Video) From the archives...Handel's "Messiah"

Here's archive video from April 4, 2010 at East Norway Lake Lutheran church in rural New London. Featured is the joint Norway Lake Parish choir, as they sing Messiah by George Frideric Handel.


The sun was shining across the Bonanza Valley for most of the day today. It was a glorious Easter! Spring is here, finally.

Here's some fun facts about Handel's Messiah: https://www.bsomusic.org/stories/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-handels-messiah.aspx.

In local news, Monday, April 17 will be very busy with a home fastpitch game at 4 p.m. (elementary diamond) against Royalton, the 7th-12th grade band and choir concert at 7 p.m. and then a school board meeting at 7:30 p.m. The varsity fastpitch game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.