An ELCA Congregation in Decorah, IA
Tuesday, May 23
7:00 p.m. – CLA Circle Meeting – Barbara Berg hosts
Wednesday, May 24
7:30 a.m. – Men’s Breakfast
Thursday, May 25
10:00 a.m. – Bible Study with Pr. Marion
Friday, May 26
12:00 p.m.- Visitation for Diane Kvamme
1:00 p.m.- Memorial Service for Dianne Kvamme
Sunday, May 28 – Seventh Sunday of Easter
9:30 a.m. – Worship with Holy Communion
10:30 a.m. – Fellowship Hour, Coffee Sale
Diane Virginia (Heger) Kvamme was born Dec. 2, 1934, in Virginia, MN, the daughter of Theodore and Dorothy (Johnson) Heger. Diane passed away peacefully at Aase Haugen Homes May 12, 2017.
She graduated from Ann Arbor High School in Ann Arbor, MI in 1952. She attended the University of Michigan and received her B.A. in music in 1957 and elementary teaching certificate in 1958. She went on to Eastern Michigan University and received her M.A. in elementary education. She was an assistant at Trinity Lutheran in Ann Arbor from 1949-1960. She taught at Livonia Public Schools in Michigan from 1958-1969, with sabbatical leave to study early education in Europe.
Diane was United in marriage to Kristen Hans Kvamme on June 28, 1969 in Ann Arbor, MI. To this union three children were born: Kulla Grace, Rolf Theodore, and Thea JoHanna.
She played the organ at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Livonia, MI and taught at Fraser Public Schools in Fraser, MI from 1969-1970. From 1971-72 she was a teacher aide and substitute in St. Columbkille in Dubuque,IA; then becoming a teacher there from 1972-73. From 1975-1985 she was the organist at Shelly-Marsh River Lutheran Church in Shelly, MN. This is where she created “The Church Mouse”, which was an article in the newsletter that she would write. From 1986-1999 she was the organist at Decorah Lutheran Church in Decorah, IA; also writing a segment for their newsletter, “The Church Mouse”. From 1999-2006 she was organist at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Decorah, IA. She also was a subbing organist at Aase Haugen Homes, where she later resided.
Survivors include her three children: Kulla (Clare) Mincks of Decorah, IA; Rolf (Lucy) Kvamme of Scottsdale, AZ; and Thea (Kevin) Gerleman of Mabel, MN. 12 grandchildren, 2 great grandsons; 1 brother Ted (Avis) Heger of Holland, MI; one brother in law John (Rosemary) Kvamme of Dearborne Heights, MI.
She was preceded in death by her husband Kristen (2007); her parents; a brother in law, Ken Kvamme; and a sister in law, Elaine Jennings.
Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 14, 2017 – “Hope and Hospitality”
Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 14, 2017
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Decorah, Iowa
Rev. Amy Zalk Larson
Click here to read scripture passages for the day.
Beloved of God, grace to you and peace in the name of Jesus.
This passage is often read at funerals, for good reason. In the face of death, it brings such comfort to hear that Jesus prepares a place for us to dwell with God forever.
Since it’s part of so many funerals, we sometimes think this passage is only about what will happen after we die.
Yet, here Jesus isn’t really talking about what happens after death. He isn’t talking about heaven and saying some will get in and some won’t, though it’s often interpreted that way.
These words are part of Jesus’ final teaching to his disciples about their life with God here on earth. The disciples have been experiencing the presence of God with them in Jesus, even if they can’t fully articulate that. Now they hear that Jesus will be leaving them and they’re feeling anxious.
Jesus gives them instructions about how to carry on his work. He also assures them that he is preparing a place for them in the presence of God, now – in their lives that will continue on earth.
That means that the promises Jesus makes here are for the living – for those first disciples and for us – in our lives now.
A reflection by Pr. Steve Garnaas-Holmes beautifully captures this. He writes:
Jesus is not talking about being dead and entering into the afterlife.
He’s talking about entering into this life, being really alive.
God’s house is not death. It’s God’s presence.
It’s this life. This moment.
The Beloved goes before you into this moment,
is here in this moment before you are,
and makes room for you,
opens a space, blesses your belonging.
The Gracious One comes to you:
leaves the place of divine certainty and perfection
and meets you where you are, in your uncertainty,
your limitation, your partiality,
and takes you to himself,
gathers you into his heart,
so that where he is,
not where he’s going to be after he dies, or you do,
but where he is—right here, right now,
in the intimate presence of God—
you may be.
What if you were to enter your life?
It’s ready for you.
What if, in gratitude and humility,
you were to live it welcoming others
into the many rooms
of God?
Jesus makes room for us, opens space for us in the very presence of God.
The presence of God is everywhere in all of creation, but our sin blinds us to this and prevents us from entering God’s presence. We get fixated on ourselves – our wants, our inadequacies, our accomplishments, our failures, our progress. We compare ourselves to others, we worry there isn’t enough, we strive, grasp, and cling to the gifts of God. We live as if experiencing peace and well-being is about what we do and don’t do, as if we must search and find God.
That is not the way into the presence of God.
All of that is not the truth about ourselves or about God.
It is not the life God intends for us.
When we live that way we totally miss the presence of God in every moment, in all of creation.
Jesus opens up space for us, for you. Jesus says you are beloved, you are forgiven, you are accepted just as you are. Let go of your striving and searching and wanting and achieving. Let go of thinking everything depends upon you and your activity. Jesus says – I go before you, I take you myself so that where I am, in God’s presence, you may be also.
This welcome Jesus gives us lets us experience God’s presence. It also opens space within us – space that lets us receive others, be present to them, and freely share of ourselves. It allows us to carry out Jesus’ work of drawing people into God – work he calls us to do and promises we can do.
This passage does provide hope in the face of death, but it has much more to do with hospitality than with heaven. It’s about the hospitality that Jesus shows us as he makes room for us and opens space for us in the presence of God. It’s about the hospitality we’re called to offer others.
We often think about hospitality in relation to hosting a family gathering, having friends over for supper, making the house or the fellowship hall look nice for guests. Those are important ways we practice hospitality; but at the core, hospitality is about making space for others.
The Congregation Council has identified deep hospitality, making space for others, as a priority for this congregation this year. I see this being lived out in so many ways. Members notice guests and offer welcome into the building and into fellowship hour. People introduce themselves to those they don’t know and move around to different tables at fellowship hours to get to know others. So many people and groups prepared the space and a wonderful welcome for new members last Sunday. These new members have already been invited to freely share their gifts and hopefully also know that there’s freedom to say no. That freedom to say no was affirmed by last year’s nominating committee as they invited people to consider serving on other committees. Deep hospitality involves tending a space where it is safe to say no to invitations and no to good things that aren’t right for an individual or the community at this time.
Hospitality is also happening through a new idea offered last year by a member of the Education Committee. The committee was working on a Lenten project collecting funds for Syria and she suggested they use a cookbook called “Soup for Syria”. It seemed like a bit of a tangent from the Lenten project, but the committee made space for her ‘out of the box’ idea. They said yes and let’s tie the soup into raising awareness for the project. This started a new tradition of the kids making soup for the congregation during Lenten soup suppers. That in turn has given the congregation the chance to welcome the energy and chaos of the kids and to broaden the ministry of hospitality that members offer to one another in the kitchen. It has also inspired the Council to identify saying “yes and” to each other as much as possible as another priority.
Together we practice living out the hospitality Jesus has first shown us. Together we practice making space for others as Jesus has opened space for us in the very presence of God. Together, in gratitude and humility, we enter and welcome others into the many rooms of God.
Let’s take a moment now to simply be in the presence of God, the presence that opens us up to others.
THIS WEEK AT GOOD SHEPHERD
Tuesday, May 16
7:00 p.m. – Congregation Council Meeting
Wednesday, May 17
7:30 a.m. – Men’s Breakfast
1:00 p.m. – Prayer Shawl Ministry – Joyce Epperly hosts
6:00 p.m. – Space Exploration Task Force
Thursday, May 18
10:00 a.m. – Bible Study with Pr. Amy
5:00 p.m. – Community Meal at First Lutheran
7:30 p.m. – Worship and Music Committee Meeting
June/July Newsletter Articles Due
Sunday, May 21 – Sixth Sunday of Easter
9:30 a.m. – Worship with Holy Communion
10:30 a.m. – Fellowship Hour
Below is a letter from Bishop Steven Ullestad concerning the anniversary of the raid in Postville on May 12, 2008.
April 11, 2017
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
On May 12, 2008, my home town of Postville, Iowa was invaded by the United States government. Helicopters circled over the community. Roads were blockaded. Guard dogs were released. ICE agents in military gear of boots, flak jackets and machine guns entered the packing plant compound. Hundreds were arrested. Others fled into the neighboring corn fields, hid in their homes, or hastily left Postville for good. Families were separated. Because the raid occurred during the first shift at the plant, families with children were affected in far greater numbers than workers who were single. Many children were left without parents to care for them.
The next day, school classrooms were decimated. One class of 26 had 9 students attend school the day after the raid. Children, both Anglo and Latino, were awakened at night by nightmares, fearing that they or their family members would be arrested and taken away. Local businesses knew the economic impact of the chaos. Family members that remained were terrified of being taken, so they gathered at the local Catholic church for safety. They returned home after five days. Most returned to the church in a panic just a few days later when a train pulling box cars from the Iowa, Chicago, and Eastern railroad rolled through Postville. The railroad logo was IC&E. The assumption was that ICE agents were back to take them away in greater numbers in box cars.
One year later, a service of prayer was co-sponsored by the Catholic and Lutheran churches. A news agency sent a helicopter to cover the event. As it hovered over the church, children, both Anglo and Latino, ran screaming into the church, “ICE! ICE! ICE!”
Though the town is on the road to recovery, these nine years later the journey is not complete.
For generations, there have been some Americans who have opposed the arrival of immigrants. Irish were feared to be more loyal to the Pope than the U. S. They were considered to be infiltrators with the sole agenda of destroying our country. The Irish were treated with brutality until refugees and immigrants from Asia began entering our country. The Irish were then deemed to be “European” and, therefore, acceptable. Germans so threatened some citizens of this country that a new political party was started named “The Know Nothing Party.” The next wave of anti-immigrant terror was directed at the German immigrants following the great World Wars.
We also remember all those who seek refuge in our country. These people, created in the image of God, know that a return to their homeland means certain torture and death. Men, women and children have heard of a land based on freedom, that welcomes the oppressed, that creates opportunities and encourages others into the journey of being the home of the brave.
The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service was formed in response to these needs. Our tradition is to welcome immigrants and refugees in keeping with the call from Holy Scripture. Scripture is clear. God’s people are to provide for the well-being of immigrants and treat them as if they are citizens of our country. (Leviticus 19:33-34). Lutherans will treat the immigrants and refugees as citizens of this country because God’s Word calls us to be a welcoming people.
Immigrants and refugees have helped make this country great. The list of inventions and benefits to our culture is too long to include in this letter. Our towns and schools would be far less populated without the new immigrants and refugees. Hampton schools are one-third Latino, the kindergarten class is half Latino and half Anglo. Postville schools are almost half Latino. Minority enrollment is 59%, far above the Iowa average of 21%. These are but two examples from our synod.
Please join me on May 12th in remembering what happened at Postville and the historic commitment of Lutherans in this country to welcome immigrants and refugees. I invite you to engage immigrants and refugees in conversations about the current climate in our country regarding their presence in this land of the free. Ask about their hopes and dreams as well as their fears. Your congregation may choose to host a meal, inviting new immigrants and refugees to join you in sharing favorite dishes representing the various nations of origin.
Then, I ask you to pray together. Pray for open hearts and new opportunities. Pray for mutual encouragement and support. Pray that the words of Emma Lazarus that grace a plaque on the Statue of Liberty will still be true today. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
God bless you.
Your Partner in the Gospel,
The Rev. Steven L. Ullestad
Bishop
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