American Lutheran Church

Gaylord, Minnesota

May, 2026 Newsletter

 

 

“Easter Essentials”

What follows is a shortened version of my sermon on Easter Sunday, April 5.

 

Fill in the blank.  You can’t have Easter without ________.


1. Jesus

You weren’t expecting the Easter Bunny, were you?  It’s not the Easter Bunny. Or Easter Baskets or Easter Egg Hunts. 
I have no problem with those things. They are good family fun. But they are not essential to Easter.  Jesus is.  Without Jesus there is no Easter.


Think about this question: What does it mean to be a Christian?        A Christian believes in God, goes to church, prays, and reads the Bible. 
All those things are true, but most importantly, a Christian is a follower of Jesus; someone who believes in him and follows him in daily life.
The Christian faith is centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ. 

So then we need to ask the next question: Who is Jesus?Every year we do a Lenten drama.  This year it was called “Who Do You Say I Am?”
The drama is based on a question that Jesus once asked his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” 
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”  Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ.  He is the Son of God.

 

2. Resurrection

You can’t have Easter without the resurrection. Early on Sunday morning some women went to the tomb.
An angel appeared to them and said, “Do not afraid; I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.
He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.  Come, see the place where he lay.  
Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed, he is going ahead of you to Galilee;
there you will see him.”  (Mt. 28:5-7)

 

Is the resurrection essential to Easter?  Isn’t it enough to say Jesus was a good man and a moral teacher; an example for us to follow.
Here is the way the Apostle Paul puts it: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised,
then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.”  (I Cor. 15:13-15)

 

Think about it like a three-legged table.  One leg is the life and ministry of Jesus. The second leg is the death of Jesus on the cross.
And the third leg is the resurrection of Jesus. Take away that third leg and the table collapses. The Christian faith stands or falls on the resurrection.

 

3. Faith

You can’t have Easter without faith.  We are Easter people, living in a Good Friday world.    
It takes faith to believe that we are Easter people- to believe in Jesus, to believe in the resurrection even as we live in a world of sin and suffering.  
But that’s only part of our faith.  What we believe is important, of course, but we are also called to live out our Easter faith. 

 

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “You are the light of the world… Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works,
and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”  We, as Christians, are called to shine the light; to be a beacon of light shining bright.
The message of Jesus is a message the world needs to hear, now more than ever. 

 

Our Christian faith is not a private thing. It’s a call to action.     We are to shine the light in the darkness of this world: the light of justice and peace,
kindness and compassion, generosity    and service.  And, of course, we are to shine the light of Christ’s love-- to all people.    

 

+ Pastor Paul Kratzke

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I was glad when they said to me,

Let us go to the house of the Lord.”


Worship Services

 Worship Services will be held on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM in May.

Holy Communion will be served on the first and third Sundays of the month.  
We will continue to stream our services through the Facebook Live app and upload them to our Facebook page for later viewing. 
If you are unable to attend a service, you can watch it online. 

 

Schedule of Musicians

Here are the music leaders for the Sunday services in April:  

 

Sunday, May 3 - Patty will play piano for the Sunday School Service.

Sunday, May 10 - Vicki will play her guitar and the Praise Team will sing..    

Sunday, May 17 - Patti will play piano. 

Sunday, May 24 - Terry will play his accordion and the Men’s Group will sing.

Sunday, May 31 - Connie will play her guitar and the Gospel Group will sing.

 



Lectionary Texts

Here are the Revised Common Lectionary Texts for the month of May:

Sunday, May 3- John 14:1-14  “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”

Sunday, May 10- John 14:15-21  “I will not leave you orphaned.”

Sunday, May 17- John 17:1-11  “So that they may be one as we are one.”

Sunday, May 24- John 20:19-23  “That you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.”

Sunday, May 31- Matthew 28:16-20  “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

 

 







Sunday School Service

The end of the year Sunday School Service will be held on Sunday, May 3.  Our theme is “School’s Out for Summer”. 
The kids will perform a skit, read the Bible lessons, sing a song, and pray prayers. Tami Carlson and Krystal Weber are coordinating the service. 
Thank you to Tami and Krystal for teaching Sunday School throughout the 2025-2026 school year! 

 

Bayside Manor Service

Pastor Paul will lead the Worship Service at Bayside Manor on Saturday, May 9 at 10:00 AM in the chapel. 
Members of the church who are currently residents of Bayside Manor are Karen, Milton, and Don & Gail.

 

 

Mother's Day 2026
Sunday, May 10


 

 

Jesus said:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and

of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  Matthew 28:19


















Baptism 

Reece Lukas, son of Lukas & Mariah, will be Baptized during the service on Sunday, May 10. 
Reece was born on Friday, March 7, 2026 at the Hutchinson Hospital. 

 

 



WELCA Bible Study

The Women of the ELCA will meet on Wednesday, May 13 at 12:30 PM. 
The ladies will conclude their three-part Bible Study called “I AM: God’s Holy Name and Promise” by Hannah Hawkinson. 
Session three is “Resurrection and Life: Leading into Abundant Life.”


Prayer Shawl Ministry

The Prayer Shawl Group will meet on Wednesday, May 13 at 6:30 PM.  The ladies are sponsoring a guest speaker named Deb Hadley who will speak on issues of grief and faith at church this fall. 
The date is Wednesday, October 7.  Watch for more details coming soon. 

 

Worship Committee Meeting

The Worship Committee will meet on Wednesday, May 13 at 7:00 PM in Pastor Paul’s office to review Lent/Easter Services and start making plans for Summer Services. 
Members of the committee are Pam, Todd, Terry, Connie, April, Patty, and Ann.

Congratulations

Leighton and McKenna!










Wedding

Leighton and McKenna will be married on Saturday, May 16 at 3:00 PM at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Gaylord. 
May God bless Leighton and McKenna as they plan for their wedding service and begin their new life of marriage! 

 

 




Church Council Meeting

The Church Council will meet on Wednesday, May 20 at 6:30 PM.  Minutes from the March meeting are included in this newsletter.  
The council is working on a number of projects this spring and summer.  See the minutes for more information. 


Pentecost is

Sunday, May 24.

Day of Pentecost

The Day of Pentecost is Sunday, May 24 this year. (Pentecost is 50 days after Easter.)
We will celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian Church. 
The story of the first Pentecost is found in Acts 2 where the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles and tongues of fire appear on their heads as they
praise God in many languages. The Apostle Peter preaches a fiery sermon and thousands of people become followers of Jesus.


Synod Assembly

The 2026 SWMN Synod Assembly will take place Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6 at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. 
There will be worship, guest speakers, approval of the budget, election of church leaders, as well as food and fellowship.   
Cheryl and Dale were elected at the Annual Meeting to be our Voting Members to the Assembly.

Pastor Paul will attend as well. 

 

Mission Endowment Report

The Mission Endowment Committee met on Sunday, April 12.  Here is the financial report for the first quarter of 2026:
There is $28,845.39 in a CD with the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA. 
The CD matures on August 6, 2028.  There is $647.80 in Pro Growth Bank Life Savings and $437.74 in Demand Checking as of March 31, 2026. 
Interest from the fund is distributed at the end of the year to support various ministries. 



Registration for Bible Camp

is open for summer, 2026!

 

Brochures are under the mail slots.

Talk to Pastor Paul about scholarships!

 

Bible Camp

 Water’s Edge Ministries (formerly Green Lake Bible Camp) brochures are on the counter under the mail slots. 
Bible Camp is a great spiritual experience and a lot of fun. 
Due to a generous gift from the Delores Jackson Trust all kids from American Lutheran Church who attend camp will receive a $250.00 scholarship.     
This is in addition to the scholarships given by the church.  
This means there is no cost to attend Bible Camp! 

 

Families will need to pay deposits and initial balances up front, the Jackson Trust scholarship will be applied by the camp,
and the church scholarship will be given to parents when their kids leave for camp this summer. 
If you have any questions or need help getting registered for camp, please talk to Pastor Paul.

 

Living Charter Members

After the recent deaths of Jim Huffman and Steve Boerner, these are the remaining, living Charter Members of American Lutheran Church (according to a list Pastor Paul was given): Charles & Marian, Steve,
Jerry, Lowell, Mark, Wayne, Brenda, Harold, Margaret, Ruth, Ken, Sandy, and Brian. 
Please inform Pastor Paul if any corrections need to be made to this list.

 

Thank You to Volunteers

Thank you to Doug and Bucky for replacing the ballasts and putting LED lights in the church sign and installing a new hot water heater in the storage room that provides hot water for the dishwasher. 
Thank you to Lukas for removing snow from the parking lot and sidewalks this winter- at no cost to the church. 
Thank you to Larry for spring cleaning around the outside of the church, picking up stick and leaves, trimming bushes,
(with some help from Dale) and planting flowers in the planter.

 

Church Pens

Feel free to pick up a pen from the basket on the table in the narthex.  The pens have the name of the church and our address on them. 
The Women of the ELCA gave some of the pens as gifts to the ladies who attended the Spring Gathering at church on Saturday, April 11.   

 

Maintenance Projects

Here are maintenance projects that have been completed in the past year:

Metal roof replaced, snow rails installed, boiler replaced, water softener and hot water heater installed in furnace room, lights/spotlights in sanctuary replaced,
LED lights in the fellowship hall installed, urinal removed,small drinking fountain removed, ceiling in coat closet painted,
window screens in Sunday School rooms replaced.

 

And here are projects the council would like to complete in the next several months:

Fix leaking issues with the dishwasher and sink faucet, paint stucco walls where the berm used to be,
clean/strip/wax the fellowship hall floor, paint window wells.


Wedding Service

Congratulations to Dominic and Sabrina who were married on Saturday,   March 7 in Mankato. 
May God bless Dominic & Sabrina in their new life of marriage!

 

Holy Week Services

There was a Maundy Thursday Service on April 2.  (There was also a service at Bayside.)
Thank you Patty for playing piano and to Todd and Terry for participating in the Reader’s Theater. 
There was a Good Friday Service on April 3. Thank you to Patty for playing piano. 
Thank you to Wayne, Todd, Doug, Dawn, Mary, and Lisa for reading the Bible lessons- and to Scott for presenting the objects of the passion.

 

Easter Sunday Services

Thank you to all the people who helped with the Easter Sunday Services on April 5!     
Thank you to Patty for playing piano, Terry for playing trombone and directing the choir, Kaleb for playing trumpet,
Doug and Dawn for reading the Bible lessons and assisting with communion,
Steve and Doris for running Easy Worship on the computer, Julie for recording the services to our Facebook page,
and Todd and Bucky for running the sound system.  

 

Easter Breakfast

Thank you to the Confirmation Students (and their parents) for serving the Easter Breakfast on Sunday, April 5. 
Thank you to Missy for baking the rolls and Misty for starting the eggs at 6:00 AM!  About 110 people were served.  The free will offering of $738.00 (minus expenses) was deposited in the Youth Ministry Fund.

 

Funeral Service

We extend our sympathy to the family and friends of Carole Polzin who died on Sunday, April 5 at Methodist Hospital in St. Lous Park. 
The Memorial Service was held on Friday, April 10, with the committal at the New Auburn Cemetery. Thank you to Gail Armstrong (Funeral Committee Chair) and all the people who donated food and served the meal.

 

WELCA Spring Gathering

Several ladies from church hosted the Minnesota Valley Conference Women of the ELCA Spring Gathering on Saturday, April 11. 
A big thank you to Ann for all the work she did coordinating the event, Patty for playing the piano, and Vicki for providing special music. About 45 women attended the gathering. 

 

Gustavus Meeting

Pastor Paul & Dawn attended the Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations Meeting on Saturday, April 18 in St. Peter. 
American Lutheran Church is one of 500 Lutheran congregations in this association, the largest of its kind in the country. 

 

First Communion Service  

Ava, the daughter of Nick and granddaughter of Christine, celebrated her First Communion on Sunday, April 19. 
May God bless Ava has she continues on her journey of faith.  (Our other fifth grader, Kori, received First Communion in March.)

911 Eighth Street  PO Box 176

Gaylord, MN 55334

507-237-2428
amlc@rsfiber.net

www.alcgaylord.com

                

The mission statement of

American Lutheran Church is:

“to help people grow in their faith in Jesus

and to live out their faith in daily life.”