St.

Petri Evangelical Lutheran Church

804 Grand Avenue
Story City, Iowa 50248-1417

You can also view the newsletter online at www.stpetrilutheran.weebly.com

The St. Petri Messenger

A publication of St. Petri Evangelical Lutheran Church

St. Petri Worship Schedule

9:30 a.m. Sunday Worship Service
10:30 a.m. Coffee/Fellowship

St. Petri Church Office Hours

Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
except, Wednesday afternoon
Church Office Phone: (515) 733-4623
Email address: stpetrilutheran@gmail.com

Pastor – Rev. Tim Malek

Youth Director – Megan Gustafson
Missionaries– Patrick & Jacqueline Bencke, Japan
Parish/Financial Secretary – Veronica Wright
Custodian – Connie Valentine
MAY 2022
 ST. PETRI LUTHERAN CHURCH, STORY CITY, IA
MAY 2022
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 Every Sunday AM 2 3 4 5 National Day 6 7
(unless noted) 9a-3p Bethany of Prayer Pastor’s Day
9:30a Worship Service 10:30a Staff mtg. Quilters 8a Men’s Bible Off
10:30a Coffee//Fellowship 6-7:30p Youth Study
12p Pastor Text Group
6-7:30p Confirmation-St P Study
8 Communion 9 10 11 12 13 14
Mother’s Day 9a-3p Bethany 6p Property/ Pastor’s Day 8a-10a Girl Scouts
8a Men’s Bible
10:30a Staff mtg. Quilters Trustees Comm. Off
Mtg. Study
12p Pastor Text 6-7:30p Youth 2p WELCA
Study Group
7p Council Mtg.
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
10:30a Staff mtg. 9a Bethany 8a Men’s Bible Pastor’s Day 8a-noon Trustees
10:45a G.I.F.T. Study Off Clean Up Day
Quilters
6-7:30p Last May
Newsletter 9am Weekend
Youth Group til Women’s Bible Study
Fall articles due
at McDonalds

22 Communion 23 24 25 26 27 28
---- LWR Quilt making 9a-noon Mon-Wed ---- 8a Men’s Bible Pastor Day
Study Off
10:30a Staff Mtg 9a-3p Bethany
Quilters
12p Pastor Text
Study
29 30 31 June 1 2 3 4
MEMORIAL DAY 9a Bethany 8a Men’s Bible Pastor Day
10:30a Coffee with the Quilters Study Off
Council Office Closed
12p Pastor Text SCANDINAVIAN DAYS
Study
4 St. Petri Messenger
St. Petri Messenger
MAY 2022
Pastor Tim Malek
Faith Seeking Understanding
Alleluia Christ is risen! Christ is risen
indeed alleluia! If you’ve ever typed the
above statement in a word processing
program (I use MS Word) you know that it
flags the word “risen” and suggests that it
should be “raised.” For me there is
something more dynamic, ongoing,
continuous and perfect about saying, “Christ
is risen!” “Christ is risen!” continues the
excitement of the first Easter morning and
helps us realize that the newness of eternal
life should bloom each and every morning.
In the northern hemisphere we are blessed to
celebrate Easter in the spring of the year.
Even though spring was tardy this year, the
landscape is finally renewing itself with the
greens of daily growth and the wild colors of
hopeful blossoms. This is a natural time to
reflect on our own renewal and growth as
individual disciples of Christ and as a
community of faith.
First, I want to encourage you as individual
disciples to attend church regularly
throughout the upcoming months of May
through September. Enjoy all that nature has
to offer this summer AND get to church.
“24And let us consider how to
provoke one another to love and
good deeds, 25not neglecting to meet
together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another, and all the
more as you see the Day
approaching.” – Hebrews 10:24-25
Second, I want to encourage all of us to be
even more warm and welcoming to visitors
who may join us for worship. Intentionally
look for people you do not know and strike
up a conversation with them. Offer to show
them around or grab them a cup of coffee,
introduce them to other people in other
words be rabidly hospitable. This is one of
our “strong suits” but I know we can do even
better.
“Let mutual love continue. 2Do not
neglect to show hospitality to
strangers, for by doing that some
have entertained angels without
knowing it.” – Hebrews 13:1-2
See you in church!
Pastor Tim Malek
 Congratulations to
Rue Carol Birchmier
and
Poppi Rose Kay Birchmier
who were baptized April 24!
Rue and Poppi are the
In April 2022 daughters of Tanner &
Jessica Birchmier.
In Our Prayers
Pastor Tim Malek, Marilyn Hanson, Rue and Poppi’s baptismal
Howard Reisetter sponsors are:
Cole & Kayla Birchmier and
Hospitalized in April
Heather Sweers.
Marilyn Hanson
Their grandparents are Dan & Kim
In Memoriam
Luke Baade (Judy Schnurstein’s great Birchmier.
nephew) May we all be Christian examples to this
child, as well as to all around us.
Ongoing Prayer Concerns
Let your light shine before others that
Helen Zook, Paul Wierson, Gloria Severson,
they may see your good works and
Darlene Patterson, Kay Disbrowe,
glorify your Father in heaven.
Linda Fevold, John Satre, Mark Helland,
Karen Keech (Kevin & Diana’s sister-in-law)
Prayers for those not near to us:
Patrick and Jacqueline Bencke, ELCA
Missionaries, Japan
Soldiers, Peace Workers, and National
Humanitarian Aid Workers
Those in Ukraine and Russia Day of Prayer
May 5th
Our Japan Missionaries
Patrick & Jacqueline Bencke

If you would like to view St. Petri’s newsletters

online, go to: www.stpetrilutheran.weebly.com.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! MAY 8th
Wednesday, August 3rd at 6:00pm our
missionaries will be coming to St. Petri!
We will have a potluck and enjoy listening
to their journey.
 EASTER LILIES
Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts St. Petri 2022
and cards during my recent surgery and
Our heartfelt thanks to those
recovery. I make progress daily. I firmly
who sponsored Easter lilies!
believe what the Bible tells us, “The prayer
of the righteous is powerful and effective.”
– James 5:16b [NRSV]
God bless you all, Pastor Tim Jane Bauman
In Memory of David Bauman, Husband
Nancy Carlson
From the Northeastern Iowa Synod ELCA
In Memory of John Carlson
Dear St. Petri Lutheran Church,
Easter greetings from your synod office! Virginia Egemo
Thank you for your faithful and generous In Honor of My Family
response to God’s love through your gifts Marlene Helling
for ELCA missionaries, Patrick & Jackie In Memory of James Helling, Scott Helling, Gloria
Bencke, World Hunger, Lutheran Disaster Helling
Response in the Ukraine, Lutheran World
Relief, and to the ministry and work we do Ordean & Liz Johnson
as a synod! In Memory of Loved Ones
Grounded in Easter hope – you and I Kevin & Diana Keech
cannot walk away when there are In Memory of Ellen Ness, Karen & Richard Keech
opportunities for the good news of Jesus to
Carmen Peter
be proclaimed in word and deed. Thank you
for the ways that you practice the art of
In Honor of My Family
loving like Jesus. Larry & Denice Reisetter
May this Easter season be full of new life, In Honor of Family
joy, and courageous kindness. Gloria Severson
Thank you, Pastor Liz Ast. To the Bishop In Memory of Milt Severson (Husband)
and Jerry and Bob Severson (Sons)
John Satre
In Memory of Bonnie Satre

Monday,
May 31st
(office closed)
June newsletter articles are due
Friday, May 20, 2022.
 MAY C.A.R.E. GROUP 2022
CARE Group 2 Leader
Ann Healy
Eric & Vicki Anderson Martha Arends
Tim & Amy Crouch Mark & Cindy Doolittle
John Ernest Carol Foss
Kyle & Nicole Healy Garrett & Sierra Healy
Erick & Paige Healy Mike Healy
WELCA REPORT
Jeff & Callie Henrichs
May 12 WELCA Bible Study Walt & Barb Hermanson
May 23-25 Quilt Making Roger & Nancy Hermanson
Come join the quilters the last Monday Lorna Hoversten Nancy Jewell
Kevin & Diana Keech Tim & Debra Malek
thru Wednesday of each month from 9am-
Mary Nannenga Annette Owenson
noon for fun, food, & fellowship. There is a Darlene Patterson Steve & Mary Peterson
variety of tasks – cutting, tying, pinning, Ron & Glenda Rahfeldt
and stitching! Everyone welcome! Marty & Connie Rasmusson
Chris & Angie Roling
Dear Ladies of St. Petri, Ryan & Katie Thorson
I miss the fellowship with my St. Petri Hubert & Gloria Tussey
friends very much. It is the people in St.
Petri and Story City that I miss so very
much. It is tough to live in a town for 95+
years and then have to leave.
At first I lived in a retirement home. I am
much happier living with Paul and joining
Sylvia many times a week.
Thank you for the Valentine. I so
appreciated being remembered.
With Love, Kay Munsen
There is, also, a letter on the fellowship hall JUNE C.A.R.E. GROUP 2022
bulletin board from Kay for all to read. CARE Group 3 Leaders
Angie Rieck-Hinz, Valaree Muhlenburg

Dave & Nicole Bauman Jane Bauman

Dan & Kim Birchmier Brad & Beth Dedic
Kim Finley Tom & Kris Foss
Marlene Helling Paul Hill
The Weekend Women’s Bible Study Group John Hinz Tyler & Crystal Hobbs
now meets at 9:00am the third SATURDAY Danny & Chris Hobbs
of the month (except November & James & Sherri Keigan John & Jan Lekwa
December), at McDonalds in Story City. Barry Muhlenburg
Contact the church office (733-4623) if you Trent & Katelyn Muhlenburg
have any questions. John & Mary Pelican Kevin & Susan Ruby
Enjoy time with friends and coffee. We are Olive Sampson Sharon Sills
currently reading from the New Testament, Craig & Paula Van Brocklin Paul Wierson
and if you don’t bring your Bible, we share Tom & Mary Wynia Helen Zook
nicely. See you there!
 St. Petri Clean-Up & Empty-The-Closet
Day will be Saturday, May 21 from 8am-
noon. Please come help, even if it’s for part
of the morning. Many hands make light
work! If you have any questions, please
contact Pat Murken. Sponsored by the
Property/Trustees Committee

Afghan Refugee Assistance - Please help

May 2: Oskar Keigan Rowe gather items to assemble LSI Welcome Kits
May 8: Spencer Dedic for refugees. There is a bulletin board in the
May 9: Dave Sporleder
social hall with tags for items needed to
May 11: Landon Carr, Joe Chelsvig,
Darlene Patterson complete the kits. Pull 1 tag or several. All
May 13: Amelia Klett items must be new and dropped off at the
May 18: Caden Henrichs, Tim Malek church by May 22nd. There are tags to fill 3
May 20: Jen Lamoreux
kits for bathroom, adult bedroom and child
May 21: Phil Peterson
May 23: Adam Holm, Piper Jones, bedroom. If all the tags disappear, we can
Judy Watson add more ;-)
May 24: Kiersten Fevold
May 26: Carson Williams On May 29, we will have the first “Coffee
May 27: Roger Hermanson, Tom Wynia
with Council” during fellowship. This isn’t
May 28: Nancy Carlson, Virginia Egemo
May 29: Tyler Lamoreux meant to disrupt your normal fellowship
May 31: Calvin Hill, Olivia Hill, time, but provide you a time to discuss
Randy Olson things with the council and find out what
they have going on and what’s coming up,
OUR MISSION: or bring concerns that you may have. These
We are Disciples of Jesus Christ, will be held on the 5th Sunday of any month
called to grow in Christ with 5 Sundays.
and to invite all to follow him.

St. Petri volunteers to deliver MEALS You are INVITED to

ON WHEELS for the month of May. There
is a sign-up calendar on the table outside
the church office. Your help is greatly
appreciated! 
Attention Youth!
Youth Group meets Wednesdays from
6:00p-7:30p at St. Petri. The last youth
group for the school year will be May 18th.
St. Petri’s Book Club!
Bring a drink and come to our next meeting on
Saturday, July 23, at 9am. Books will be
available in the St. Petri church office, in June.
We meet QUARTERLY, on the 4th Saturday in
October, January, April, and July, at 9am.
We meet at St. Petri on the couches downstairs.
 Men’s Bible Study Thursdays 8:00AM
Join Pastor Tim in fellowship and reading
the Holy Scripture. Bring your Bible and
your own coffee or other morning
beverage. No homework or advance
reading involved, simply fellowship and
Bible reading and mutual reflection. Open
to all men. Call Pastor Tim if interested
but cannot attend.
Hi, it’s Church Mouse!
“Let’s meet by the
donkey!” It’s never been
more fun to listen in on
conversations than in
the weeks leading up to
Palm Sunday. The
Easter Sunday egg hunt
was also fun to watch.
The G.I.F.T. multi-age Sunday School group
had sooo much fun with the escape room
activity. There was something for everyone
to enjoy, even for the coffee drinkers at the
slacker table. The vibe was good and
everyone was welcome.
Our hearts and prayers are with the
Ukrainian refugees, and we sent 50 quilts
for them last month. Our non-quilting
members are grateful to our quilters for
accomplishing this feat and came through
with money for supplies. Our quilters enable
us to send love and comfort directly to those
in trouble.
Did you see the participation for the Palm
Sunday choir? Judging from the amount of
people in this group, we are happy for this
opportunity to get together and we are here
for each other. Thank you to Jane Bauman
for directing us!
My heart is full, Church Mouse
Lutheran Services in Iowa May 2022
Happy Mother’s Day!
Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the
strong, loving women in your life. At
Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI), we see
moms through their journey to build the
brightest future for their children.
We see moms turning to LSI Behavioral
Health Intervention Services to ensure their
child is receiving the coping skills and
behavioral supports they need to thrive. In
our Early Childhood Services, we see first-
time moms who are eager to join our
parenting education classes and support
groups. In 2021, LSI’s Early Childhood
programs provided support to nearly 500
families of young children. We are so
inspired to hear their stories and see their
hard work pay off as they raise our next
generation.
As you celebrate Mother’s Day this year,
remember how many Iowa moms are being
empowered because of your support. If you
are looking for a way to honor a mother in
your life this year, please consider making a
gift in her name to LSI. For more
information, please contact Deb Whitford,
LSI director of philanthropy and church
relations, at Deborah.Whitford@LSIowa.org
or 563-676-2065.
Our Mission: Lutheran Services in Iowa
responds to the love of Jesus Christ through
compassionate service. LSI is an affiliated
social ministry partner of
the Iowa congregations of the ELCA
(Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
and a member of LSA (Lutheran Services in
America). We proudly serve people of all
ages, abilities, religions, sexes, gender
identities, national origins, ethnicities, races,
and sexual orientations. Learn more at
LSIowa.org and Facebook.com/LSI.iowa.
Education for Every Parent
As a parent educator for LSI, Lindsay spent
every day visiting families in their homes
and teaching parents how to meet their
child’s developmental needs and help them
thrive.
When she left LSI and welcomed her new
son, Patrick, into the world, Lindsay wanted
some extra support for her family. And she
knew just where to turn.
LSI Early Childhood Services provide
evidence-based curriculum that builds on
each family’s individual strengths and
ensures they have the education and
resources they need to achieve their
personal goals and keep kids on track with
their developmental milestones.
Each week, Lindsay was able to meet with
her LSI parent educator, Amy, and get a
fresh perspective on the best ways to help
her son succeed. Together, they worked on
setting nutrition goals for Patrick, and
Lindsay is now getting ready to help her son
learn to walk and talk.
For years, Lindsay was able to educate and
empower Iowa families through LSI Early
Childhood Services. Now, she gets to
experience the programming from the other
side, and it’s given her a new outlook on
how valuable the education and resources
are to parents of young children.
“I want to thank everyone who has
supported LSI,” Lindsay says. “This
programming is for everyone. Just having
the opportunity for in-home visiting is
awesome. I want to thank everybody for
donating because I love this program.”
RIVERSIDE BIBLE CAMP EVENTS
Register at www.riversidelbc.org or
733-5271
SUMMER CAMP AND FAMILY CAMP
SIGN UP ONLINE
St Petri Lutheran Church
Approved Council Minutes
March 9, 2022 – 7:30 pm in Gift Room
In attendance: Ann Healy, Tim Malek, Jo
Murken, Pat Murken, Kara Deridder, Karen
Munson, Katie Thorson, Betty Grinde
Call to order: Ann Healy at 7:27pm.
Opening prayer by Ann
Minutes of Feb. meeting presented typo
corrected and correction made to decision to
keep communion going from back to front.
Moved to approve with changes by Jo, 2nd
Katie, passed.
Financial Report We are close to 16.66% of
our budget as of the end of Feb. Cookie
Sale proceeds have beed disbursed. Souper
Bowl of Caring generated $215, check given
to Loaves and Fishes Pantry. $215 has
been collected for Emma Grinde’s banner.
We need to renew Paul Hertz’s contract for
2022. Rick shared a comparison of income
and expenses for the 1st 2 months of the last
6 years and we are doing well in comparison
to all those years.
Youth Ministry – No report, as Megan is in
Hampton tonight for Lenten service.
Christian Fellowship Lenten suppers will
be served at St. Petri on March 16 and 30.
Menu on the 16th will be soup. Youth rooms
have been cleaned and old sofas hauled out.
Carpets will be cleaned soon. We may scale
back to 1 youth room and do some space
rearranging to give the custodian a better
storage area and set up to use the empty
youth room in a different way. Painting is
also on the agenda.
Worship Usual worship planning
Property and Trustees Approved carpet
cleaning for youth rooms and areas Connie
is concerned about. Three thousand dollars
has been given to the front step project from
the St. Petri Endowment. Approved $375
for a valve in the furnace by Neighbors
Heating. The system is working better now.
There will be an outdoor work day in late
April/early May. Jim Keigan will paint the scheduled on a Sunday or a Wednesday,
NW door in the near future. The Oreck preferably before school starts.
vacuum is being repaired in Ames.
Policy updates: Changes recommended –
Faith Formation Kara thanked the council increase fee for audio-visual person to $50
for allowing the fundraiser for A Way for for any event (wedding, funeral, etc). Ask
Will. Over $1000 was raised. Megan has that music be sent in digital file if possible.
shared some curriculum ideas for some of If on CD it must be delivered 24 hours in
the younger youth programs. We did some advance so AV person can make sure it
brainstorming about how to get more works. Change ‘care group’ to ‘funeral
families with kids to participate in worship committee’, correct 2 typos, change Brandie
and other things: Have GIFT more often, to Connie. Motion to approve by Betty, 2nd
restart acolyte program, use puppets in Katie. Passed.
ministry/GIFT, involve kids in special music
Coffee with Council Executive committee
during the service, rent a donkey for Palm
recommended holding this during fellowship
Sunday (Kara will talk to Hovicks). Pastor
time on each month that has a 5th Sunday.
mentioned that mission trips really energize
This allows Council to update members on
young to middle aged adults. Write notes to
things that are going on in the church and
members we haven’t seen in a while and
to receive ideas and feedback from
include schedule Lenten/Holy Week
congregation members. First one will be
activities.
May 29th.
Tithe.ly Rick and Veronica were able to go
Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm followed by
on the site and get rid of the $49 monthly
Lord’s Prayer.
charge. There is still a donation button
there. Don’t know if it works. Rick got the Respectfully submitted,
name of an ISU student who might be able
to help with web page design. He has sent Betty Grinde, Council Secretary
her an email with some information about ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
what might be involved, and is awaiting a
response. This will probably be a summer
project.
Council Retreat will be April 24th – more
discussion at the April meeting.
Pamphlet – action is on hold until web page
is updated.
Worship Service update for COVID – Since
numbers are down in the county, masks will
be optional. When prefilled communion
cups are gone, we will go back to regular
cups and wafers. Will keep an eye on the
number of cases and make adjustments as
necessary.
Missionaries will be in the US 7/21-9/16
and are available to visit their sponsor
congregations and do a presentation about
their work. We will try to get them