• Sabbath offering: Church Budget
• Youth: Potluck and Feed My Starving Children
• Sunset is at 5:45 p.m.

Jaime Jorge:
Violinist Jaime Jorge: World famous violinist Jaime Jorge will share his testimony and talent for our church on February 25 for both services!

Winterfest 2012:
This has become a can’t miss event every year and this year is shaping up to be better than ever. This year it will be held next week, February 25 from 6:00-9:00 pm. We will have MCA, AAA-TC, Maple Plain and Minneapolis 1st SDA churches hosting booths! Games, food, and socializing: what more could you ask for? Questions or Comments? Call or text Goran at (612) 293-9845 or goran@pujic.com.

Special Constituency Meeting:
March 4 @ 10:00 am, regarding our Minnetonka high school operations. For the 2011-2012 school year, we had a one year agreement to work with Atlanta Adventist Academy (AAA) until Maplewood Academy set up their distance learning program. During the meeting we will hear an overview of operational and financial arrangements of operating a Maplewood site from conference leadership as well as the new Maplewood Academy Principal, Justin Okimi (note that Jusin is also the current principal of AAA). The objective of the meeting will be to vote on committing to the Maplewood program. Our church members full and active participation is encouraged as we decide on the future of Adventist high school program here in Minnetonka.

ICA Food Drive:
ICA is making an attempt to break the world record for the “Largest food drive in a 24 hour period”. GET INVOLVED now through Saturday, March 24. Bring jars, cans, and boxes of food to the church or to Winterfest.

Hey Church Ladies!
This month’s “Favorite Thing Night” is changed to Tuesday, Feb. 28. at 7:00 p.m. Your favorite item is to bring is a BOOK! New or used, we will be exchanging them with each other. (This one is so hard to choose!) Bring a friend and come as you are! Looking forward to another relaxed evening together. See you at Marie Carlson’s home: 3113 Groveland School Rd. Minnetonka MN. Contact Marie with any questions: marie.a.carlson@att.net or (612) 805-2296

Upcoming Sermon Series:
March 3—April 28: Foundations of Christianity: What is a Christian? What do we believe down at the foundational level? Why do we believe? What are the bedrock points on which our entire belief system is built? Join us for an eight part sermon series on the foundations of Christianity.

2012 Alumni Weekend:
The Alumni Weekend for 2012 will be from May 5 – 6! Stay tuned for the announcement of our Guest Speaker! Alumnus Vanessa Pujic (’01) will again be coordinating this year’s weekend. If you have any questions or if you can help with an element of the weekend please contact her ASAP. Vanessa Pujic: (269) 277-3174 or vanessa@pujic.com. If you are a former student from Minnetonka Christian Academy visit the new Alumni section on the school website. In preperation for the alumni weekend we would encourage you to update your information by filling out a short online form. This will help us send mailings to the correct address.

Psalm 32:1-5 NKJV

¹ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. ² Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³ When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah ⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

• Sabbath offering: Adventist Television Ministries
• Sunset is at 5:35 p.m.

Call for Children’s Story tellers:
Do you like children? Are you one of those people who have interesting things happen to them? Do you find yourself learning life lessons through your everyday existence? Do you enjoy a captive audience? Can you tell your stories in 3 minutes or less? If this is you we NEED you to be a part of our Children’s story team. Contact Pastor Benji if interested.

Winterfest 2012:
Mark February 25th in your calendars! This is a can’t miss event every year and this year is shaping up to be better than ever. Games, food, and socializing, what else could you ask for? Questions/Comments? Contact Goran at (612) 293-9845 or goran@pujic.com.

ICA Food Drive:
ICA is making an attempt to break the world record for the “Largest food drive in a 24 hour period”. GET INVOLVED now through Saturday, March 24. Bring jars, cans, and boxes of food to the church or to Winterfest.

Hey Church Ladies:
This month’s “Favorite Thing Night” is changed to Tuesday, Feb. 28. at 7:00 p.m. Your favorite item is to bring is a BOOK! New or used, we will be exchanging them with each other. (This one is so hard to choose!) Bring a friend and come as you are! Looking forward to another relaxed evening together. See you at Marie Carlson’s home: 3113 Groveland School Rd. Minnetonka MN. Contact Marie with any questions: marie.a.carlson@att.net or (612) 805-2296

Upcoming Sermon Series:
March 3—April 28: Foundations of Christianity: What is a Christian? What do we believe down at the foundational level? Why do we believe? What are the bedrock points on which our entire belief system is built? Join us for an eight part sermon series on the foundations of Christianity.

2012 Alumni Weekend:
The Alumni Weekend for 2012 will be from May 5 – 6! Stay tuned for the announcement of our Guest Speaker! Alumnus Vanessa Pujic (’01) will again be coordinating this year’s weekend. If you have any questions or if you can help with an element of the weekend please contact her ASAP. Vanessa Pujic: (269) 277-3174 or vanessa@pujic.com. If you are a former student from Minnetonka Christian Academy visit the new Alumni section on the school website. In preperation for the alumni weekend we would encourage you to update your information by filling out a short online form. This will help us send mailings to the correct address.

On the first point: make sure your attitude is cheerful, reverent, and friendly. Remind folks to turn off cell phones; remind them that this is a place of worship where we come to meet the Lord and that reverence is essential; and remind them (GENTLY!) of the children’s room for when needed.

On the second point: have your announcements prepared, with notes so you don’t miss one; think about your prayer in advance of delivery (the February elder’s meetings will address this); know who is doing what (children’s story, scripture, etc), and whether you have to announce them; and know what to say when announcing the next part of the program, calling people to prayer, dismissing the congregation, etc.

On the third point: know when you have to be at the microphone; know how to use the microphone (March elder’s meetings will address this); get to the microphone so that you can begin speaking seconds after the last person has finished (if I can get to 3 Mississippi, that’s too long!).

I have noticed a marked improvement since our summit meeting, and many of the stumbles are not the fault of the elder. Keep up the good work!

Main issues that I have noticed since the summit:

• We are not getting the doors to the sanctuary closed as the service begins
• We are not moving down the aisles in unison every time
• The deacon on duty is not making it to the pre-service meeting (9:05 for first service, 10:40 for second service). I realize this may affect your Sabbath School attendance, but your deacon duties come first.
• Please have an extra body up front during the Children’s Story for collecting the blue baskets so the children’s story person does not waste time with that.

For those who have not heard, Joshua has accepted a position as an elder, and Alvin Battilier has agreed to be the head deacon for second service.

I have noticed a marked improvement since our summit meeting. Keep up the good work!