Dear Fellow Workers:
We greet you this month with one of our hymns for ascension:
    We thank Thee, Jesus, dearest Friend,
    That Thou didst into heaven ascend.
    O blessed Savior, bid us live
    And strength to soul and body give.  Alleluia!  (ELH #394, v. 1)

ELS Bright Spots
On the north side of Lima, our Peruvian mission operates two elementary schools.  The schools have been in existence for five years.  In the Amazon River region we have a school that has been in operation for five years at Nueva Barranquita.   Now we are happy to note that another school has begun in a neighboring Amazon village.   

At its plenary meeting on April 28, the Board for Foreign Missions voted to recommend to the 2006 convention that our synod adopt South Korea as a new permanent mission field.  Close to sixty people per Sunday attend services at the exploratory site in Seoul.

Four seniors from our Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary are waiting to be assigned their vicarages on May 11.  The four are:  Dale Jaech, Michael Muehlenhardt, Daniel Oberer and Andrew Schmidt.   Other news from the seminary:  Eight or nine incoming first-year students are expected for next August.

Plans are being made for a preschool start this coming fall at Grace Lutheran in Vero Beach, Florida.

We are happy to hear that Faith Lutheran in San Antonio, TX, finally has been able to obtain the building permit for their new sanctuary.

Convention Presentations
Monday evening (June 19) Cross-stitch will host a presentation in the Ylvisaker Fine Arts Center Theater. Missionary Timothy Erickson will be the speaker.

Two special presentations are being scheduled for the Tuesday evening (June 20).  Both presentations will take place in Meyer Hall at 7 p.m.  One will be a presentation of the ten-year master plan for the campus of our Bethany Lutheran College.  Also, our Board for Christian Service will hold a discussion session on the subject of health insurance, led by Mr. Joel Petersen. 

2006 Convention Plans
Dates: June 18–22, 2006
Theme: “For You and Your Children” (Acts 2:39)
Essayist: Rev. Edward Bryant
Kickoff for the For You and Your Children special two-year offering
Synod Sunday preacher: Rev. Bradley Kerkow
Synod Sunday liturgist:  Rev. John Petersen
Synod Sunday Service: 3 p.m. in the Bethany College Chapel
Seminary Anniversary Service: Sunday 7:00 p.m.
Seminary anniversary preacher: Pres. Gaylin Schmeling
Convention Chaplain: Rev. Timothy Zenda
Anniversary Service (Tuesday, 5 p.m.) speaker: Rev. Charles Keeler
Memorial Service (Wednesday, 5 p.m.) speaker: Rev. Glenn Obenberger
Communion service preacher: Rev. Timothy Erickson
Communion service liturgist: Prof. Mark Harstad
Tuesday evening – Spaghetti Supper at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Wednesday evening – Sloppy Joe Supper in the Bethany Dining Center hosted by Peace Lutheran Church
Convention Painting: Rev. Donald Moldstad
Monday night, 7:00 p.m. – Cross-stitch presentation
Tuesday night, 7:30 p.m. – Bethany Lutheran College Campus Master Plan
Order of Service arrangements, Synod Sunday and Communion Services: Prof. D. Marzolf
Devotion speakers: Rev. Matthew Crick, Rev. Kurt Kluge, Rev. William Mack, and Rev. Thomas Westendorf
Organist for convention:  John Baumann

Anniversary Service
The Anniversary Service will be held on Tuesday, June 20, at 5:00 p.m. in Trinity Chapel on the Bethany Lutheran College campus. The following anniversaries of ordination will be observed:
The Rev. John Krueger (50 years)
The Rev. Harold Vetter (50 years)
The Rev. Wayne Halvorson (40 years)
The Rev. Thomas Kuster (40 years)
The Rev. Erling Teigen (40 years)
The Rev. Richard Wiechmann (40 years)
The Rev. Daniel Faugstad (25 years)
The Rev. Steven Reagles (25 years)
The Rev. Carlton Sielaff (25 years)
The Rev. Paul Zager (25 years)

Memorial Service at Convention
The Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, June 21, at 5:00 p.m. in Trinity Chapel on the Bethany Lutheran College campus. The following pastors and pastors’ wives will be remembered:
The Rev. Milton Tweit (1908–2005)
Mrs. Bergit Runholt (1910–2005)
Mrs. Emma Rusch (1904–2005)
The Rev. Walther Gullixson (1913–2006)

Seminary Anniversary
The sixtieth anniversary of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary will be celebrated in a festive service on June 18, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity Chapel with Professor Adolph Harstad as liturgist and President Gaylin Schmeling as preacher. Also in this service the Rev. Michael Smith will be installed as a professor of the seminary with the Rev. Kincaid Smith, representing the Board of Regents, conducting the rite of installation.

 April meeting in Madison, WI, of the Board for Thoughts of Faith and guest attendees

 

Rev. Mark Grubs (Czech Republic), Rev. Gundars Bakulis (Latvia), and Rev. V’yacheslav Horpynchuk (Ukraine) were honored guests at the April meeting of the Board for Thoughts of Faith, a church-related organization of the ELS.


Participants at the tenth anniversary celebration for Abiding Word, Bowling Green, OH, on April 9, 2006:  neighboring pastor,  Rev. John Merseth (lector); home pastor, Rev Ken Mellon, and Pres. Moldstad (preacher) 

Convention Transportation
Please let Elsa (elsa.ferkenstad(at)blc.edu) know by May 12 if you need a ride or are willing to give others a ride from the airport to the convention. She will respond to those that email with times that others are arriving so that they may share a vehicle. 

ELS Historical Society – Saturday, June 17, 2006
The Tenth Annual Meeting will take place this year at Norseland Lutheran Church, St. Peter, MN (located about 10 miles NW of St. Peter on Hwy 22).  The theme is:  “A Legacy of Christian Ministry: Pastor M. E. Tweit.”  The opening service is at 10:00 a.m.  Three panel presentations are scheduled.  Please visit our website for all the needed information:
http://www.evangelicallutheransynod.org/history/activities

Address Changes
Rev. Paul Sullivan: sully2457(at)yahoo.com

Prayer Requests
Please pray for Pastor Sawall's wife as she is in the hospital with severe dementia.

We thank God that the infant son of Pastor Aaron Hamilton and wife Heather is now home and doing well (gained two pounds!) following a difficult birth.

Prayers are requested for Pastor Lewis Gerbhardt, his wife, Hazel, and their family. Pastor Gerbhardt is currently in the hospice house in Vero Beach, FL. He has pneumonia. Hazel is also under hospice care, although still at home. She is suffering from cancer.

Pastoral Conferences Scheduled
May 3–4—Circuits 11 & 12 Pastoral Conference in Klamath Falls, OR
May 22–23—Circuit 9 Pastoral Conference in Apple Valley, MN

President’s Activities
May 3—Board for Evangelism
May 5—Board for Home Missions
May 8–9—Board of Regents
May 9—Board of Trustees
May 12–24—Turkey trip
June 4––preach at Elk Mound, WI (WELS)
June 18–22—ELS Synod Convention


In Christ, our crucified, risen and ascended Lord,

John A. Moldstad