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 First Lutheran has a great group of young people who are very involved in their church, schools, and community. Quite a few of our elementary and middle school-aged members participate in their school band program, so FLC is organizing a summer band opportunity for these kids.
This group meets Thursdays at 6:00 PM.
Our junior band members will be riding on First Lutheran's float in the Paul Bunyan Days Parade. We will also be playing during worship services several times this summer. This is a great opportunity for kids who play a band instrument, and ALL players are welcome!
If you're not a member of First Lutheran, but your child would like to participate, we would love to have them join us! There's no charge, and it should be a lot of fun! |
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Upcoming Sundays In Worship |
June Worship Schedule
Sundays at 10:30 AM
Sunday, June 2: Pastor Darrell Morton will lead us in a traditional worship service. Holy Communion will be served at the altar rail, and service music will be provided by Steve Pritchard on the organ. Stay for a bit after the service and join us for coffee, treats, and warm fellowship.
Sunday, June 9: This will be a traditional worship service, with organ music provided bv Barb Hanson. Holy Communion will be served via  intinction. The Fret Nots will provide special music, so come and tap your toes! Get here early and join us for fellowship, coffee, and treats at 10:00.
Sunday, June 16: This will be a traditional worship service, with Holy Communion served at the altar rail. Barb Hanson will provide service music on the organ.
Sunday, June 23: This will be a healing service, led by Pastor Darrell Morton. We will join in Holy Communion via intinction, and service music will be provided by Barb Hanson. Come early and join us in fellowship.
Healing plays a great part in the story of Jesus, and that story continues today. The Christian healing tradition is built around theologies, rituals, and practices that help us find the spiritual strength to live whole, abundant lives. Our community of faith supports and cares for those in need, and lives out a ministry of healing every day.
Sunday, June 30: Come and join us at Paul's Patio in downtown Akeley for a fun outdoor worship service. Service music will be provided by Fran Gack and Frank Lamb, so be ready to tap your toes!
We do this service every year in order to celebrate our town's "Paul Bunyan Days" celebration. It's a wonderful chance to worship in the open air, surrounded by God's creation. It's also a fun way to meet our neighbors and join in fellowship.
First Lutheran is a friendly, relaxed place where ALL are welcome!
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Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." Genesis 2:18
“It is not good that the man should be alone. . .” Those are words we often hear read at weddings, and of course marriage is one intended context, but they apply to more than marriage. They are a statement about something that is deep within our being; our need to live socially. As I read through scripture, I find in it a clear expectation that we do not live our lives in isolation, but rather in relationship with one another.
When Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” he responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love of God and love of neighbor are inextricably woven together, they must not be separated.
It seems like a rather simple blueprint for good living; love God and love neighbor; but yet it can get so complicated. At another time Jesus was asked, "Who is my neighbor?" He responded with a story about a man who was beaten, robbed and left to die along a roadside. Two religious leaders individually happened upon the man, but neither could be bothered to stop and help him; they each passed him by. And then a man came along, who came from a group of people who were historic enemies of the injured man, a people who did not worship God in the accepted manner; it was that man who stopped and gave aid and comfort. Jesus then asks, “Who was the neighbor to that injured man?”
As Jesus points out, living in community, that is, loving my neighbor can be challenging, more than that, it can be a bother. But as complicated as it might be, it is what we are created to do. Like so many places  Hubbard County has its share of people who are in need of neighbors, sometimes we might not even notice them as we go about our busy lives, but they are there. They are families who rely on the food shelves for basic sustenance; they are seniors who have lost their partners and long for company; they are children for whom the Park Rapids Kinship Program provides much needed mentoring if the mentors are available
The list of neighborly needs is inexhaustible. Do we see the needs, and if we do, how do we respond? Are we neighbors?
Pastor Darrell
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What's Happening at First Lutheran |
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Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota
LSS helps Minnesota's most vulnerable by providing a wide range of human support services related to the basic necessities of life -food and shelter, physical health and safety, and emotional and spiritual well being.
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Welcome to First Lutheran Church! We are a welcoming community of people actively living out our faith in Jesus Christ. Our worship services share uplifting messages that are relevant to today's world, and offer an open and inviting atmosphere where adults and children are welcome and included. Through activities for people of all ages we experience God's love and grow in faith.
