Richfield Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA)

JULY 30 - MONDAY - Get to Know Your Neighbor Day -

We started the day with 52 K-5th Graders who became Teams, Earth, Sky and Stars!  We did opening worship and talked about how we will be "Creation Keepers - Saving the Planet One Child at a Time!"  We talked about trees and how important they were.  Then we walked almost two miles total to Fire Station #27, and as we walked we felt the difference the shade of a tree makes in our world.  We talked about how instead of chopping down trees we can cut and c=prune them so that they can continue to provide life-giving oxygen to us all.  WE sang creation songs all the way down and all the way back.  We were thankful for the six boxes of popsicles in stock at Holiday Station Store on the corner of 54th & Nicollet.  We took a cool shower under a lawn sprinkler and brought an abandoned cart back to CUB Foods - just to be neighborly.  When we returned to RELC - we laid out on the floor of the Fellowship Hall and gave thanks for air conditioning and snacks and cold juice to drink.  Our bible discussion was on creation and used the Genesis scripture about "In the Beginning."  We ended the day with Chapel Time and sang fun songs about creation - like The Hippo Song!

DAY 2 - Water, Water Everywhere!  A trip to Lock and Dam #2 and Minnehaha Falls for a cool off under the shade of the mighty oaks.  Our team learned a lot about the pwer of water and how our world is impacted by river systems.  We also picked up a LOT of acorns to take home and plant in our own backyards - or to feed a feast to the squirrels.  Minnehaha Falls roared in the background and most teams made the trip up and down the stairs to the base of the falls.

DAY 3 - Creature Feature Day took us on a field trip to Como Zoo.  We had a program with the zoologist about how our actions impact the world and God's creatures in it.  We then worked together as small groups to do a zoo scavanger hunt that taught us facts about God's creatures big and small.

DAY 4 - Serving God by Serving Others was our motto as 65 of us took a bus trip to Feed My Starving Children and packed food for a shipment to an orphanage in Haiti later this week.  Together - kids 5 years through adults packs over 9,000 meals for FMSC during our 90 minute session.  Good works by God's kids.  Then after packing was through we took time to pray for the shipment and the life-saving nourishment it will bring to so many children.  Our efforts will help feed 25 children one meal a day for one year!

DAY 5 - We celebrated a wonderful week of God's Creation by being in God's creation at Woodlake Nature Center.  We came - we saw - we went on a scavanger hunt and we worshipped under the popular trees.  A great week.  the kids learned that they hold the future of God's creation in the palm of their hands.  Each of them - a steward for their lifetime!

 DO YOU HAVE A PRAYER JOY OR CONCERN? 

Let us bring your prayer petition to the RELC church family next Sunday morning.  If you have a prayer joy or concern - here's what you do.

1.  Go to the home page

2.  Under "Site Navigation" click the Contact Us tab

3.  List your prayer concern there and we will include it during our next Sunday morning worship.  If you want us to reply to you - please let us know that, too and we will be in touch.

For more immediate concerns - please feel free to contact the church office at 612 861 2265.  God's richest blessings on your day!

Color, like music, plays an important role in the life of God's worshiping people. Just as music is the "handmaiden to theology," liturgical color complements the message of the seasons and occasions during the church year. Taking a familiar seat in the sanctuary preceding worship on any given Sunday, and the worshiper's emotions and intellect are immediately engaged by color. Liturgical colors aid in establishing a climate in which Law and Gospel may be heard and received.

Color, like light which is its source, is most helpful when it is pleasing as well as stimulating to the senses. However, let's never forget its primary role in divine worship: Color allows us to see the Light of Life, Jesus Christ. At Richfield Evangelical Lutheran Church, we see light reflected in our beautiful Christ window throughout the year in many different ways, depending on the location of the sun and the cloud cover of the morning.  At RELC, we follow the liturgical calendar.   The paraments, vestments, altar clothes, banners, traditionally employed each Sunday, must be seen as more than an attempt to decorate, or give accent to the chancel. They reflect the liturgical season we are currently in. 

Traditionally, five basic colors of a festive, penitential, and neutral nature have been used in most liturgical congregations. At RELC we use blue, white, purple, red, green, and black.  Following the church calendar (that begins with Advent in December) here is a brief listing of what colors go with what seasons:

BLUE is the more contemporary color increasingly used by many congregations in their observance of a new church year. Advent takes place four weeks prior to Christmas

WHITE is the color Christmas and Epiphany and takes us through Transfiguration Sunday - the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.

PURPLE is the color of Lent and is used in church settings from Ash Wednesday through Maundy Thursday.

BLACK  is seen very seldom during the year. It appears on Good Friday and is seen on the altar and cross.  The absense of light and the stark surrounding of the sanctuary send a sobering message of Good Friday.

WHITE is used for the season of Easter that takes us from Easter Sunday 50 days to the beginning of Pentecost.

RED is used on Pentecost Sunday and then during the season of Pentecost, the paraments change to Green. Red is also used in late October for Reformation Sunday.

GREEN is by far the most common color seen during the year. Lutheran Worship calls for its use during the seasons Pentecost.

On Christ the King Sunday, in late November, Richfield Evangelical Lutheran Church celebrates the church year by combining every color of the liturgical season into a celebration worship that leads us through the many seasons of the church before we start a new church year, the next Sunday, the beginning of Advent.

We invite you to join us any Sunday morning for worship at see the many colors of the church seasons reflected in our rainbow effected Christ Window at Richfield Lutheran at 9:30am.

At Richfield Evangelical Lutheran Church we have two Wednesday night music options for adults:

 6:30pm to 7:30pm - HANDBELLS 

Meets in the Sanctuary

The Top Ten Reasons to Play in the Jubilation Ringers:

 
 10. JuBELLation!  
 9.   Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. (It's a Wonderful Life)
 8.   You miss playing in the high school band.
 7.   You enjoy being a ding-a-ling. 
 6.   Develop your eye-hand coordination. 
 5.   You will be a mover and a shaker. 

 4.   Build your biceps. 
 3.   Learning music!
 2.   Team work.
 1.   "Think when the bells do chime, 'Tis angels' music." -George Herbert

7:30pm to 9:00pm - SENIOR CHOIR 

Meets in the Choir Room

The Top Ten Reasons to sing in the Choir:

 10. Your favorite movie is Sister Act.
 9.   The side door conveniently located for early departure. 

 8.   The best way to start the week is on a high note.
 7.   When Pastor Rolf starts “preaching to the choir,” he’ll be preaching to you!
 6.   Enjoy reserved seating on Easter Sunday.
 5.   It's like American Idol, but we let you stay.
 4.   Breathe deeply, oxygenate those tired blood cells after work. 
 3.   Sing your faith with others.  
 2.   Help lead worship.
 1.   Exercise your musical gifts to the glory of God. 

For more information about these Music Ministry programs, contact the church office at (612) 861-2265.