November 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on Oct 29, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on November 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You may recall, back in August we celebrated Holy Communion every Sunday. We did this because the Gospel readings were focused on John 6 where Jesus continually brings up in different ways how he is the Bread of Life. Now what has come out of this is the question, “What really is Holy Communion?” Our Lutheran answer to this...
read more

October 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on Sep 24, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on October 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. “Saved by Grace, Gathered in Faith, Called to Serve.” Where have you seen/heard that phrase before? Hopefully you said that is the mission statement for Circle of Faith. It is also the words that circle the cross in our Circle of Faith logo. Have you ever stopped to think about these three short phrases? Saved by Grace This...
read more

September 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on Aug 27, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on September 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The nights are getting longer. School supplies are on sale again. The fair is over. And it won’t be long before the crops begin turning colors. All of this can only mean one thing, the summer is quickly coming to a close, whether we are ready for it or not. Looking back on our third summer together as Circle of Faith Parish,...
read more

August 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on Aug 14, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on August 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. A couple months ago, I asked the Parish Council to think back to their earliest memory of Holy Communion. What is your earliest memory of Holy Communion? Mine is going early to church with my dad to watch him fill the communion cups with a little squirt bottle. I did not receive Holy Communion until my confirmation day. And I...
read more

July 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on Jun 30, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on July 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. With the typical decline in worship attendance during the summer months, I thought it might be helpful to share with you why going to church every week is important to me (and not just because it is my job). I grew up going to church every week without really knowing why we went. It was just what we did. Now today, many young...
read more

June 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on May 29, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on June 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Wow! This last month has been a busy one, not just for the farmers who have been prepping and planting their fields. Not just for the teachers and educators who are wrapping up another academic year. But also for your pastors, organists, church custodians, funeral servers, church members, and the surrounding communities. At...
read more

May 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on May 1, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on May 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This time last year, I believe there was still snow on the ground. But this year, the farmers are busy plant-ing, the final papers and exams are getting completed, and the lawn mowers are humming again. It is certainly a joyous time of year for us who live in the “frozen tundra” that is Minnesota. After long...
read more

Summer Theology Series

Posted by on Apr 27, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on Summer Theology Series Does your church have more pews than people? Do you wonder what God can do with a small church in rural America? Come and Share Three Weeknights With: the Concerned and Hopeful Christians living out on the prairie! Circle of Faith Parish presents the 2nd Annual Summer Theology Series: Mission on the Prairie Circle of Faith Parish will be holding the 2nd Annual Summer Theology Series.  The dates...
read more

April 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on Mar 27, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on April 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In last month’s article, I wrote about the 40 days of Lent as we had just begun this penitential season. Now we are coming to the end of these 40 days, which will indeed come to an end on Maundy Thursday. And before we begin the 50 days of Easter, which is what we look forward to in Lent, we first will go through a three day...
read more

March 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on Mar 3, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on March 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the 40 days of Lent have begun. But what does the season of Lent even mean? When you hear that we are now in the season of Lent, do you think, “Oh, now I have church twice a week”? Or, “There’s food at church every Wednesday night in Lent.” Or I bet most of you are thinking the same thing I am, “After Lent comes Easter,...
read more

February 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on Jan 30, 2015 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on February 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. A couple years ago when our older son was about 6 months old, Stephanie and I began saying the Lord’s Prayer as part of his night time ritual. We began doing this because anytime is a good time to pray the Lord’s Prayer, and we also did this in order to begin teaching him how to pray our Lord’s Prayer. Our son is now 2 ½ years...
read more

January 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Posted by on Dec 29, 2014 in Pastor Anthony Christoffels' Monthly Letters | Comments Off on January 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In January we begin another new year, 2015 years after our savior’s birth! We also begin a new season of the church year, Epiphany, and we direct our focus onto a new word, FELLOWSHIP. With three new things in January (2015, Epiphany, and Fellowship), what greater way to begin and celebrate these new things than with a party!...
read more