Squiggles Pillows

Have you met Squiggles? 

He's a caterpillar that hangs out with us in the Preschool and Kindergarten GodZone classes. Squiggles can be found on every page of the Spark Story Bible and has many adventures during our large group time.

At the end of every school year, Squiggles has a party to celebrate all of the wonderful stories we have read during the year. The party is capped off with a special gift from Squiggles. This year, the Shepherd Quilters, several wonderful volunteers, and GodZone program coordinator, Pam Tschida, teamed up to create a wonderful memory for our youngest GodZone students.

Work began in October on “Squiggles Pillows” with a morning of sewing and stuffing pillows to be given to students at the end of the school year.

What a wonderful partnership! Working together, they sewed and stuffed over 250 pillows! The kids were so excited to receive their pillow from Squiggles and couldn’t wait to show mom and dad. 

Our two quilting groups are always looking for new friends to cut, sew, and stitch! All skill levels are welcome and the finished pieces are all donated to charities such as Target House, LSS, or Union Gospel Mission. The Shepherd Quilters meet Mondays, 9-2 and the Golden Stitchers meet 1st, 3rd, and 5th Thursdays, 9-Noon.

Below are photos of the quilters, the finished products, and their satisfied customers!

Four Core Ministries Have Emerged

Jenny Buckley
Council President

Getting Ready for the Annual Meeting: Part 1 of 5

In this day and age we often hear churches and businesses use words like vision and mission, often interchangeably. At Shepherd of the Valley, we use the term vision as “what we aspire to be” and the word mission as “why we exist.”

WHAT: Our Vision 

As a congregation, we aspire to be a church that invites “...all people to experience the welcome, transformation, and sending of Jesus Christ.” Over the last few months, several pastors, staff, and lay leaders have considered what each part of the vision actually means:

• Welcome: We invite people in all stages of their faith journey to experience Jesus through our ministries in Christian community.
• Transform: We are changed as we experience Jesus through our relationships and ministries.
• Send: We are inspired to apply our faith daily by loving others and sharing the Good News of Jesus. 

The Year of Welcome: Beginning this fall, we will embark on a three-year cycle of “welcome, transform, and send” where one component of our vision will receive special emphasis and targeted initiatives each year. A leadership team began meeting last fall to prepare for the first year of “Welcome” and a new team focusing on the following year of “Transform” is currently being assembled.

WHY: Our Mission 

As with the vision, several people have met to discuss and develop a clear mission for our church. Their discussions led to the conclusion that as a community we exist to “discover, grow, and live into our individual relationships with Jesus Christ.”

With a strong vision and mission in place, it is only natural to consider how the programs and ministries at our church can best support our mission. As a result, four core ministries have emerged as ways to support faith formation:

1. Worship: We praise God, and are spiritually fed, through God’s Word, music, prayer, and sacraments.
2. Learn: We grow our Biblical knowledge, enrich our understanding, and apply our faith to daily life. 
3. Connect: We develop and strengthen relationships in our congregation, local community, and global community through invitation and service. 
4. Care: We offer compassion, companionship, and faith affirmation throughout life’s journey. 

The goal of the church leadership in the coming months is to take these words from the page and let them breath life into the decisions we make. We will consider how programs and staff can be aligned to these four core ministries and create a meaningful experience for all. One example of this already occurring is the call for a new pastor.

Next week, I’ll explain how we are adapting our structure, including our ideal pastoral structure, to align with these four core areas of ministry. 

In the meantime, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Post questions and comments below or e-mail us at council@sotv.org.

Blessings,
Jenny Buckley-Church Council President

Getting Ready for Our Annual Meeting

He is Risen! What a glorious time of year! Each day as the sun shines longer and the temperatures begin to rise, I feel a bounce return to my step and a lightness in my spirit. There is such hope and promise with the return of spring.

Over the past year, I have been privileged to be a part of many meetings focusing on the life and mission of Shepherd of the Valley. After each gathering, my heart soars with excitement about all the great things God is doing right here in Apple Valley.  

Our Annual Congregational Meeting will occur on Sunday, June 7th at 12:30 pm. All are invited to attend. A free lunch will be served from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm - please RSVP for lunch. Between now and then we will be writing a blog series about the state of our church. There has been a lot going on at SOTV and we want to take a little time each week to give you an update.  

Here is a list of topics we will cover before June 7th. Please follow along each week and then join us on June 7th to hear more about how God is working in and through us at Shepherd of the Valley.   

May 7:   Our Vision and Mission

May 14: Structure and Pastoral Staffing

May 21: Call Committee

May 28: Capital Campaign
June 1:  Endowment Fund

June 5:  Finances

Thank you for partnering with us as we live our vision of inviting all people to experience the welcome, transformation, and sending of Jesus Christ.

Blessings,

Jenny Buckley - Church Council President

Paul Keller - Church Council Vice President

The Final Shepherd’s Sale

 

Let’s Make it the Best Sale Ever! 

A Huge Impact

For 21 years, garage sales at Shepherd of the Valley have done a tremendous amount of good in our community. Each year, the Sale is an opportunity for our church to open its doors to the community to be a place of welcome, hospitality, and fellowship. Our volunteers especially look forward to coming together as one big church family. The neighbors we serve walk away with arms full of great finds at low prices. Each year we meet people able to buy furniture, clothing and other items for their homes that they otherwise can’t afford. When it’s all over, 100% of the proceeds and any unsold items go to local organizations that help children in need including District 196, Dakota Woodlands, 360 Communities, Lutheran Social Services, Kids ‘n Kinship and more. Since 2010 alone, sales have raised over $110,000!

All Good Things…

This year will be the final Shepherd’s Sale and we need your help to make the 2015 the Best Sale Ever. Each year, the Sale is increasingly harder to organize and execute well:

• The Sale demands an immense amount of volunteers to work long hours over a two week period.
• Summer is a difficult time to recruit volunteers and collect donations, but we don’t have space in the building at other times of the year.
• Many hours and strenuous tasks are required to set up, go through donations, operate the sale, and clean up. 
• Costs for many of our supplies have increased. Renting tables alone costs $4,000. 
• Each year, we borrow a large amount of supplies and materials from community partners like Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. 
• It is difficult and costly to dispose of unsold or unwanted goods, impacting our total fundraising proceeds. 
• The Sale takes up space in the entire church and puts strain on ongoing ministries. For example, it shuts down Our Daily Bread Food Shelf for over a week during summer – a period of increased need at food shelves. 

How Can We Better Serve Our Community?

Our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, calls us to reach out and become in tune with the needs of our community. As great as the Sale has been, we want to explore how else to be Jesus’ hands and feet in the world. Our goal is to develop opportunities to support our community and raise funds for local organizations throughout the year that are not reliant on large amounts of labor, volunteers, space, and resources to be successful. We can better serve our neighbors by working smarter, not harder. If you want to be part of a team that plans new ways to serve the community, contact Lisa Hegerman at 952-985-7329 or lisa.hegerman@sotv.org. Once the sale is over, we will be focusing on fun ideas for the summer of 2016.

 Let’s Make 2015 The Best Sale Ever!

• For starters, we MUST have 70 volunteers each signed up at two critical shifts. Tuesday morning, June 16 (9:00 am – Noon) and Friday afternoon, June 26 (Noon – 4:30 pm).
• Once we have enough volunteers for these two shifts, we will need volunteers to commit to all other shifts from June 15 – June 26. See all shifts
• We will have a more focused list of accepted donation items this year, based on what has sold in the past. Disposing of unsold items can be costly. 
• Shop and tell your friends to come out and shop too!
• You can sign up to volunteer online using SignUpGenius or download and print our flyer and return to the church office.
• Full details and registration at www.sotv.org/sale

Together We Can Strengthen and Preserve Our Mission

By Rod Hofland,
Member of Capital Campaign Steering Committee

Shepherd of the Valley has developed strong preaching, teaching, music and outreach ministries over its relatively brief history. The inspirational worship services, numerous Bible studies and educational programs help us all grow spiritually. Our facilities provide space for numerous meetings that benefit our community. The congregation provides significant outreach support to those in need, serving and helping people in several states. Sponsorship of our partner congregation in Tanzania aids a thriving ministry. Financial support of the St. Paul Synod and the ELCA help the mission of the church throughout this country and the world.

The purpose of our capital campaign is to allow SOTV to strengthen its financial stability and improve facilities to grow into our vision, “Welcome, Transform, Send”, for years to come. It will position SOTV to increase our outreach locally, nationally and globally. We have an important mission in bringing the message of salvation and demonstrating God’s love to others.

If you have not yet met with one of our visitors, please, welcome and schedule your visit and prayerfully consider your support of this important endeavor. Thank you to those who have already had a visit and are supporting our capital campaign.Together, We Can Do More!

Urgent and Important

By Chris Smith, Senior Pastor

Years ago, management guru Steven Covey divided the tasks of life and work into two categories, urgent and important. Things can be urgent but not important (la ringing telephone that turns out to be a sales call) and important but not urgent (like saving for retirement in your 30s). Covey urged readers to pay their closest attention to what is both urgent and important. Where the urgent and the important intersect, that’s the spot that matters most. Our Capital Campaign is about what matters most.

It’s urgent AND important: 

1. Debt Elimination – SOTV still has debt from building programs from decades ago. Every dollar spent on interest (it’s a lot!) is a dollar not going to SOTV’s mission and ministry. Yes, we all benefit from our bricks and mortar, but it’s time to retire debt and move on to the important and urgent work of Christ here and around the globe. 
2. Renew and Enhance Facilities – There are portions of SOTV’s facility that need help – especially the parts constructed in the 80s. These parts of the building are simply worn out from decades of wonderful use. Heating and air conditioning, water leakage, and a host of others issues have become urgent and important. 
3. Expand Outreach Support – Giving and serving for the sake of others is what the mission of Jesus is all about. SOTV has mission partners who do amazing things with the dollars we give them. More than that, they can help engage us in meaningful relationships and connections with those they serve. It’s important and urgent to direct a growing portion of SOTV gifts to serve more and more. 

Let’s join together to do what matters most: prepare Shepherd of the Valley for generations to come. Please make time before the end of May to sit down with a campaign visitor to learn more, ask questions, and pray together. Visits are the best way to receive the full information about the campaign.

Visits are between 30-40 minutes and can be in a private space at church or in the privacy of your home. You do not have to make a pledge during your visit. Here are some other answers to frequently asked questions. 

Together, We Can Do More!

The Fruit of Our Visits

By Scott Erickson
Capital Campaign Steering Co-Chair

Mary Beth and I, along with our children, (Elise, then age 2, and Zachary, a newborn) joined Shepherd of the Valley (SOTV) on a July Sunday in 1988. Our present Music Room was the sanctuary then. The concrete had been poured on the previous day for the sidewalks around the new sanctuary, our present Fellowship Hall.

Right away, we met Cris Ireland, a volunteer organizing a list of parents to teach church school in the Fall. Mary Beth, a teacher by profession, became fast friends with Cris, and in turn met others committed to teaching children about Jesus. We met couples at Saturday evening fun nights who became fast, life-long friends, and I met men in music ministry, worship and service activities with whom I remain close. In each year, we have added new SOTV friends.

I support our Capital Campaign, Together We Can Do More, for personal, selfish reasons. I need SOTV to be strong forever. I need the fellowship of sisters and brothers in Christ. It's impossible to experience the joy and peace of The Lord in a vacuum by myself. We all have an important role to play in our community of faith.

The world presents men and women with the erroneous view that "I'm in control". When life is smooth, I need you to remind me by your worship and prayers that God is God, and I'm not. When life is gut-wrenchingly difficult, I need you to remind me Jesus is in me, and He, the Good Shepherd, never leaves anyone behind. When hard challenges occur, you call out to me, "Lean in to God… He has your back."  I'm strengthened and fed by your fellowship continuously.

How often do you have a moment when you feel especially close to God? Incredibly blessed or uplifted, or both? I have heard these moments referred to as faith nodes: times when the Holy Spirit seems especially active through others around us. These are times in which God calls out to us, shaping our lives for his glory, and for our joy. Let me tell you about two of my faith nodes.

In August 1995, daughter Olivia (age 3) was riding in a Burley carrier behind my bicycle as we're gliding along a Rosemount street. It's beastly hot, and the streets are deserted. She's belted in with her helmet on, munching on chips. The only sound for a long time is the buzzing of bike tires on pavement. Suddenly, Olivia speaks. "Dad?" "Yes, Olivia?" I responded. "Dad, I love Jesus!" she said. "I'm so glad, honey. Praise The Lord!" I said. A joy-filled dad finished the ride with wet eyes that night. You see, Olivia had just been to her first Vacation Bible School. And, you, the congregation, had helped us teach her about Jesus.

Another faith node: It's Sunday morning in the Fall of 1998, and I've taken a turn playing percussion for the services held in the Fellowship Hall and packing up the drums. A friend from the congregation, Dale Thuftedahl, walks over and says, "Hey, Scott! What are you doing Wednesday night?" My first thought was a guys' night out, perhaps with burgers and beer. Dale had something else in mind, and I'm grateful beyond words. He invited me to my first Bible study for men. Simply put, that was a life-changer, no a life-saver!

You, the congregation, enable the Holy Spirit mightily as we worship, learn, and serve as a community of faith together. That same spirit of togetherness will enable us to move forward and continue God’s ministry at SOTV.

If you’re just hearing about our Capital Campaign for the first time, we are asking for everyone to schedule a visit with one of these members. During these short visits, you will get all the details of the campaign, be able to ask questions, and be able to discern how you can best support our church.

If you are already a supporter — thank you! Mary Beth and I invite you to join us as we visit more and more households. Imagine the fruit of all the visits across our congregation! Let's do this thing to which we are called. Praise be to God! Together, We Can Do More!