First Lutheran Church

The congregation is invited to the wedding of Ashley Hagnauer and Chad Tilton on June 2 at 4 p.m.

The Festival of Pentecost will be celebrated next weekend, May 26 and 27!  Pentecost is the third great festival of Christians.  Following Christmas (the birth of Jesus) and Easter (the death and resurrection of Jesus), Pentecost celebrates the gift of the Spirit of Jesus.  The color for Pentecost is red – reminding us of the flames of fire that appeared on the heads of the followers of Jesus on the first Pentecost.  A tradition among Christians is to wear red when coming to worship on Pentecost.  We invite you to come – you won’t want to miss this festival!

Gluten Free Bread in Holy Communion is now available for those who desire it.  If you wish to receive gluten free bread, hold up your hand, palm toward the server.  We continue to offer grape juice as an option instead of wine.  If you prefer grape juice instead of wine, hold up your hand, palm toward the server.  If you desire to receive Communion in the pew, inform the usher.

This Sunday, May 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:45, the topic for the class in Room 28 will be “Healthy Living.”  We will begin with a dialog and invite those present to share their interests, needs, and ideas.  We will explore ideas for additional activities related to healthy living for this summer.  The members of the Healthy Living Team will lead the dialog.  All who are interested are invited to attend.

Children and youth will be meeting over the summer as part of F.I.R.S.T. Student Ministry.  The schedule is below.  Please contact Kyle Olson at 537-8532 or kyle@firstlutheranmanhattan.org if you have any questions Early Childhood (3-5 Years Old) – 5:00 to 5:30 PM Elementary (Entering Kindergarten to 6th Grade) – 7:00 to 7:45 PM Secondary (Entering 7th Grade to 12th Grade) – 8:00 to 8:45 PM.

If you are interested in providing special music this summer, please contact Greg Knittel.  Greg is coordinating the schedule.

We are forming an Emergency Response Team to help people locally and at a distance recover from a disaster.  This ministry will prepare, respond and help people affected by a disaster with emergency needs, as well as develop emergency plans for First Lutheran.  If interested, please contact the church office.

The designated offerings for the Easter season are Lutheran Campus Ministry at KSU and Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas.  You may use the Holy Week offering envelope or earmark your gift for the Holy Week offering.

Our new mission statement declares, “Rooted in Christ, we are growing in faith to bear fruit in the world.”  Our new organizational structure is built around this mission statement.  It stresses simplicity and efficiency, while maximizing effective ministry.  The structure features three ministry areas:  Congregational Life (Rooted), Spiritual Growth (Growing), and Evangelical Outreach (Bearing Fruit).  A vital part of the new structure is having a staff person lead each of these ministry areas.  We are planning to add two new part time positions (Director of Congregational Life and Director of Evangelical Outreach) as soon as funds are available.  Remember, an extra $2.00 a week per household will enable us to reach this goal.

They have learned the ABC’s and 123’s. To tie their shoes and when to say “please”!  It’s time to move on, they’ve had lots of fun, so look out Kindergarten… here they come! Please join the graduates on Thursday, May 24th, beginning at 6 p.m. in the chapel with a reception to follow in the greenspace  area.  Please pray for these students as they start their new journey in life, Jillian Dechant, Balor Cool, Donovan Debita and Kennedy Dodds. Please RSVP to Sarah Dick by May 21st.