Lake Union Evangelical Covenant Church

(Excerpt from "Mark, my Words")

Holy week is here. It begins with the majesty and celebration that is Palm Sunday. Festive crowds, misunderstanding the true nature of who Jesus was, proclaimed that HE was going to be their new king. Those false proclamations set the empire and the establishment on edge then, just as the true proclamation of the Gospel does today.

On Maundy Thursday, we turn our attention from public adoration to private communion. On Good Friday we focus on the suffering that Jes,us willingly went through on the cross. For us. Wow. Holy Saturday passes by most of us unnoticed, but this year, with more time to contemplate deeper things, we may notice it a bit more. 

All of this drives us inexorably to Easter Sunday, the day we celebrate THE resurrection. The one that makes all other resurrections possible.

Messages from Pastor Mark during this week - All will be posted to our YouTube Channel and on our website.

• Maundy Thursday (with communion)
• Good Friday
• Easter Sunday

Dear Friends -

     We thank you for your ongoing support of your church at whatever level is possible. There are two storms hitting our nation at the same time. One is the Covid-19 pandemic and the other is the economic chaos that is resulting from shutting down so many sectors of our economy to try and win the battle against this virus.

     While we are not meeting in person, the church strives to  continue its ministry to you and your families throughout this challenging time. We ask you to stand with us so that we can all survive these storms together. 

     God promises to sustain His church. In the past. In the present. In the future. We stand in the sight of God, His victorious children, 100% sure of the victory that God has promised through His son, Jesus Christ. We stand here, unafraid, asking you to join us by continued giving. We are excited to see what our Father will do.

     So, how do you want to give? Here is the link which will allow you to safely and securely donate online (click here). If you still like to write that check, we have you covered! You can send your donation to our new P.O. Box.

Lake Union Covenant Church

P.O. Box 152

South Haven, MN 55382

In God's grip,
Pastor Mark

One of the challenges of being disconnected from one another as the body of Christ is just missing out on the face-to-face time and sharing life together, even in short conversations, at church. 

So, Lake Union is posting a favorite verse of the day along with a picture of the person sharing that verse on our Facebook page for the entire month of April. Below are the posts for this week. Our heartiest THANKS! goes out to those providing verses and pictures. Please consider contributing if you have not done so already. Email Brent at brent.stromme@gmail.com.

Week of April 1 -

Day 1 -

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26

This verse is usually stated at the end of the church service and it’s a simple reminder that as we go out into the world and face the challenges of the week, God is with us.

This is a picture of Luke and I outside the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, GA after his Combat Basic Training Graduation Ceremony. 

John Mikel

Day 2 -

"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

Philippians 4:8b

It's super easy to focus on things that are hard and to have conversations that lean toward the negative. To think the way Jesus wants to me think ... it takes a daily choice and His strength to help me live out this verse the best I can.

Becky Stromme

Day 3 -

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Romans 12:12 

This verse is tried and true in my life. The first and third part, being joyful in hope and faithful in prayer are always easy for me. It’s that middle part, being patient in affliction, that’s often a struggle. Whenever there is affliction, I am likely the most impatient. That’s probably why God sandwiched it in between the other two parts.

Leslie Hoffman

Day 4

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in You." 

Psalm 56:3

Most of my life, and still now on occasion, I am afraid. Afraid of what could happen ... what if one of us gets sick? What if one of our friends or family members gets sick? What if we never get to see our church family again? What if, what if, what if ... but, this verse. It reminds me to not worry or be afraid. God has got this ... always. So I put my trust in Him and have an overwhelming peace. And I am not afraid.

Jenna Gohman

Day 5

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:38-39

With everything going on in the world, it is easy to get caught up in doubt or worry. This scripture reminds me that He is in control and I can simply rest in His agape love. He's got this.

Lynette Sherer

Day 6

"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so I would’ve told you. I’m going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me me that you also may be where I am."
John 14:2-3

It’s easy to become too attached or fearful of losing our “earthly” homes. During these times of uncertainty and strife, these verses help assure us that this isn’t our permanent home. No matter what may come to us here on Earth, with our faith and trust in the Lord our heavenly room has been prepared and is reserved!

Jake, Jess, Evan, Haylee and Ruby Olson

Lake Union family - Our amazing new web presence, "Lake Union @ Home," is up and running.  The new web pages will help all of us stay faithful and strong during these strange times.  We provide resources that are good for everyone, and we also have some age specific areas that are really great. The web pages will be refreshed with new content as available. You can find this information by clicking anywhere in the image on our home page or on the tab by the same name. Links are also provided below.

Lake Union @ Home - main web page

• Lake Union @ Home - Kids
• Lake Union @ Home - Confirmation Families
• Lake Union @ Home - Adults
• Lake Union @ Home - Everyone

"Sunday" Messages - formats and availability

We want you to be able to experience an exciting, relevant, biblical message each week.  We also know that everyone is different.  While most of us are going to find and subscribe to the sermon audio (upper right corner of the web page), others really like the video that we make available through our YouTube channel.  Songs, the message (video or audio) will be loaded each week to our new "Lake Union & Home - Everyone" web page. As before, both the video and audio will also be available on our website home page.

If you know someone who isn’t very tech savvy, you can always download the audio and make them a CD.  If you can't do that, click here to email Pastor Mark.  Make sure to tell him what message you want and who it is for; it’s that simple.  If you would like to read a transcript, we are making those available as well.  Transcript links will be located near the videos.  What is truly important to us, during this time, is that you stay connected to God and we help you stay connected to your church family.

In 1 Kings 17, the prophet Elijah is taken care of by God during a time of drought.  God promises to take care of him, and in verse 6 we read “The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.” 

Lake Union launched a new ministry to help during this crisis, and we are calling it “The Ravens.” When our people have needs, our “Ravens” will do our best to meet them. They can run errands, pick up supplies, and even get someone copies of our weekly messages to listen to (or read) if they aren’t able to use technology to access the church website.

Like the ravens that were called specifically to meet Elijah’s needs, our ravens are going to be focused on our church community. They are making phone calls and checking in on people. We invite you to reach out to those you are close to and see if they are okay. If they have a need, reach out to our ravens by emailing the church (office@lakeunionchurch.org) or message them through our FB page.

We cannot do everything, but we can do something. We cannot meet every need, but we can meet some needs. Together we can do all that we can during this challenging time!

If you are seeing this, the chances are high that you are in our online directory (www.lakeunionchurch.org/login). If you are not in the online directory and want to be included (and in the know), click on that same link and set yourself up.  The "Login" tab has a ton of great church information including the online directory. If you are reading this, you are invited to be included!

If you are already in the directory, can you take a few minutes sometime soon and check your profile and make sure the information is accurate, current maybe add a picture if one is not currently out there? Many use this directory and putting a face to a name is super helpful.

Add each adult member of your family to the "Individuals" section. Email the church at office@lakeunionchurch.org and we will create a "Couples and Family" entry by pointing to the individual profiles.

Remember, no one can view this information without login access (and we monitor this). 

Thank you!

We would love to hear from you! Whether it is to share contact information or submit a prayer request, we appreciate you connecting with us.

If you need prayer, our Prayer Warriors are ready to receive and pray for you or your friend/family.  

Here is the link to submit your Prayer Request (or contact information) online. The Prayer Team takes all prayer requests very seriously and maintains confidentiality.

If you want to be included in our online directory so you can be in the communication loop (email; text), visit our "Login" page and it will walk you through getting added. If you have questions or need help, email our office (office@lakeunionchurch.org).

Genesis. It's the first book in the Bible. It is where our human story began. Join Pastor Mark as he takes us through Genesis verse by verse. You will hear some of the best known stories in the Bible and learn how this ancient book connects with our modern life of faith.  To view a list of available audio in this series and listen/download, click here.

We will be posting audio frequently to this web page. You might consider subscribing to the podcasts. The subscription links, "iTunes Link" or "Subscribe to our podcast," are shown in the upper right corner of the audio web page (small letters). If you need help with this, email the office.

Enjoy!

For many followers of Jesus, a Christian camp played a major part in the formation of their faith. For some it’s the place they decided to follow Jesus, others answered a call to full time ministry while at a camp or retreat, and for many it was a place that their faith grew deeper and stronger. Something special happens when you get away from all the issues of normal daily life and spend some quality time with God and other Christians.

For the next four weeks we will be highlighting our wonderful camp, Lake Beauty Bible Camp. We will be looking at the impact it has on our people and the wonderful programs that it offers. There will be opportunity to give, above and beyond what you may be giving, to help send our kids to camp. There will also be opportunities to raise funds in new and fun ways. Keep your eyes and ears open!
 

Today we focus on Lake Union’s first overnight retreat for 7-12th grade students, which will be at Lake Beauty. Stay tuned for details.