Arvin Pirness | The Voice of Zion August 2022 - News and Notes -- Seek ye first the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33) was the motto for our 2022 LLC Summer Services. The joy of the believers being able to gather to the hearing of God’s Word was most evident. Paramount was the call for one to seek, find and then, by faith, dwell in the kingdom of God, endeavoring to heaven’s home. Once the service site was cleaned up, all that was left behind were the walking paths from the weekend, giving a picture of our endeavor on the old well-worn path. We thank the many volunteers who worked tirelessly to prepare and maintain the site for Silver Springs Summer Services. LLC Board Meeting – June 30, 2022 LLC Board members reviewed planning updates for the current summer services and future winter and summer services. The 2023 LLC Phoenix Winter Services will be held March 17–20 with this service motto: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you (John 14:27). 2023 LLC Summer Services will be hosted by the Monticello congregation at the LLC Silver Springs site July 6–9, 2023, with the motto Upon this rock I will build my church (Matt. 16:18). The Board approved the application from the Laestadian Lutheran Church of Utah Valley to join as a member congregation of the LLC. We wish God’s blessing for the believers who are now living in southern Utah. The Board heard committee reports. Becca Edwards of the Rockford, Minn., congregation was added to the Humanitarian Aid Committee. LLC Annual Meeting – July 2, 2022 The 2022 LLC Annual Meeting was held at the Rockford Laestadian Lutheran Church. LLC delegates reviewed and gave support for the proposed 2023 LLC Operating Plan, which included a plan to keep dues at current levels. There was a motion to move LLC Summer Services to the weekend after SRK’s Suviseurat for 2023 and then to re-visit the matter in 2026. The proposed Bylaws revisions and realignment of Mission Areas were approved. This requires a realignment of Area Mission Committees and the LLC Board position vacated by Jim Frantti retiring to shift to the Southwest Area. Delegates re-elected Petri Hotari, James Jurmu and Michael Kumpula to three-year terms on the LLC Board. Delegates also elected Roger Plough to replace retiring board member Peter Lever, who represents the Northwest Area. The annual meeting delegates and meeting attendees had a long discussion that was free, open and heartfelt regarding the spiritual division in the North American Zion. Many speeches by delegates expressed a loving call to repentance to restore unity. The loving call to repentance went unheeded, moving delegates to approve the motion to formally remove Wolf Lake and Minneapolis as member congregations in the Laestadian Lutheran Church. While we sorrow for those who have battled against the North American Zion, we live in hope and prayer that they would yet find a place of repentance. Delegates will be prepared to give a detailed report to congregations when meeting minutes have been finalized. We kindly ask you to remember to pray on our behalf and on behalf of all the work done in God’s kingdom. Updates on LLC Activities June, July and August are summer months and that means camp season is in full swing. June at Kamp Kipa was busy with youth camps, family camp and pre-confirmation camp held there. We are thankful that the Crooks Fire was contained and extinguished prior to camp season. We especially remember to thank God for His protection. During the month of July, there are eight confirmation schools with 285 students registered. 2022 has also seen the return of the Language Camp and the addition of the inaugural International Choir Camp. We have remembered to pray that God would bless the camp season so participants could experience the prayer of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Eph. 3:16–19). The minister exchange with SRK has resumed. We thank God for sending Finnish ministers Aimo Koskelo and Timo Valli to serve in North America. In exchange, Jim Jurmu from Monticello will serve Finland for the summer mission trip from July 18 to August 10, 2022. Resumption of foreign mission trips is planned for Fall 2022. God willing, Adrian Pirness will travel to The Gambia and Senegal and Jon Bloomquist will travel to Ghana and Togo in August. The LLC Board Facilities Committee and the Silver Springs Development Committee (SSDC) met on June 29 and will be meeting quarterly to develop a draft plan for long-term development of Silver Springs. Planning begins immediately to implement lessons learned for the 2023 Summer Services. Many people have asked about reservations for RV sites for 2023 Summer Services. LLC staff will make decisions about additional spaces and locations based on feedback from the meetings held between SSDC and LLC Board Facilities Committee. It is now five months since we released the LLC Hearken app. We note that many of you have found this app to be a useful resource in your life and faith. We continue to develop the app to ensure it works as seamlessly as possible, and we also continue to add new content each week. We welcome your feedback on this and all publications projects and products. In September, our Communications Department will host a Content Creators Workshop at Stony Lake Camp. At this workshop, staff and volunteer workers will meet to discuss content creation needs and goals across all our publication platforms: music, print, digital, video and audio. An overarching goal of ours is to produce content that comforts and supports believers in their faith. The best content for believers is created by believers.

Arvin Pirness | The Voice of Zion September 2022 - News and Notes -- September brings changing weather and the start of fall. It also marks the beginning of the school year, and the end of a busy camp season. We pray for God’s protection and blessing as our young return to study. May they experience the intrigue of learning, be diligent in their study and have the desire and strength to be a light unto the world in word and deed. We pray that lessons from camp would help them speak of faith and hope of heaven. Updates on LLC Activities Communications Mid-September we will gather at Stony Lake Camp with staff and volunteer contributors for our Content Creator Workshop. We will discuss content creation needs and goals across publication platforms. We will especially focus on writing needs, services broadcast content, and content for Hearken, our publications app. We are thankful for all the time and gifts that our volunteers contribute on a regular basis. We plan to release a new Christmas album this fall. The music for this album was recorded in Elk River, Minn., in April. Now we are finalizing the editing and mastering of the tracks. The theme of this choral album is the Christ Child. Work continues on the LLC History Project. A first volume of LLC history will be released at 2023 LLC Summer Services next July. Watch for more information in coming months on how we plan to observe our organization’s 50-year anniversary. Camp Work and Facilities Another summer of camp blessings is ending. Hasscib and Kamp Kipa seasons will be complete by the end of September and Stony Lake season wraps up at the end of October. Many believers were able to experience the joy of camp this year. Six LLC pre-confirmation camps were held in 2022 with an updated curriculum that answers the need to augment Confirmation curriculum. Preliminary evaluation shows that those changes received broad support from assigned staff and will help further prepare our young for confirmation school. Silver Springs restroom construction continues. The expected completion date for rough-in plumbing, electrical and heating work is mid-September. Insulation and drywall installation is expected to be completed by the end of September. Work continues with Wright County, Monticello Township and the City of Monticello to amend existing ordinance language regarding our use of the Silver Springs property. Based on recent meetings, we expect that final amendments will be approved in mid-September. The balance of Silver Springs electric RV campsites are being sold for the 6-year balance of the original 10-year sites. Consideration is being given to expanding electrical sites to the west. More information will follow in coming months. Significant work continues to extend the lifespan of buildings at our camp centers. Recently, an independent analysis of structural components of the Stony Lake lodge revealed internal log decay in some locations. A recommended mitigation method will stop the decay and reinforce decayed areas. If the work is completed soon, further decay will be halted, extending the serviceable life for many years. All projects identified are prioritized and addressed as funding allows. Cooperation with Sister Organizations Joint meetings between the SRK, SFC and LLC are planned for the week of September 19–23. The board has asked LLC Board Chair Jim Jurmu, LLC Board Secretary Sam Roiko, LLC Board member Petri Hotari, LLC Executive Director Arvin Pirness and LLC Mission Director Adrian Pirness to attend. These biennial meetings serve to plan our joint work in mission and publications while fostering unity of faith and understanding. Mission Work LLC foreign mission trips to Africa have resumed with MW3 trips to The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Togo. Adrian Pirness and Miika Kopperoinen traveled to The Gambia and Sierra Leone, keeping a confirmation school and confirmation exercise in the former. Veli-Matti Heikkinen traveled to Togo. The second 2022 Ministers Webinar was held on August 25th. John Stewart gave an overview of the Letter to the Hebrews as well as an overview of Keijo Nissilä’s commentary on the Letter to the Hebrews, Let Us Look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of Our Faith. The 2022 LLC Ministers and Wives Camp will be held at Hasscib Lake Camp September 24–26th. The SRK fall mission trip has been tentatively planned for September 30th–October 24th. Markku Seppänen and his wife Liisa will make the trip on the SRK’s behalf. Our next Bible course will be held at Stony Lake Camp October 7–9th. We encourage you to sign up today!

Arvin Pirness | The Voice of Zion October 2022 - News and Notes -- Fall changes are now seen in nature as the seasons pass. Fall brings its own excitement with many congregations hosting Fall Services and with Sunday school in full swing. As I reflect on the blur of my first three months as Executive Director, I marvel how the work of God’s kingdom moves forward day to day and generation to generation. This summer we saw how God blessed the trips to the U.S. by Finnish brothers Aimo Koskelo and Timo Valli, the Finnish Language Camp Group, and the International Choir Camp held in the Pacific Northwest. God has also blessed the eight confirmation schools held this summer, and the many camps that took place at our camp facilities. Finally, God has allowed foreign mission work to resume: Jim Jurmu recently traveled to Finland and Adrian Pirness to The Gambia and Sierra Leone. The unity of faith and understanding amongst the children of God is a miracle to know and experience. Updates on LLC Activities The 2023 LLC Summer Services kickoff planning meeting was held at the LLC office on September 9. This gives planning committee members from both the hosting congregation of Monticello and the LLC the opportunity to support each other in the work. SRK Minister Markku Seppänen and wife Liisa arrived September 29 for a three-and-a-half week mission tour on the SRK-LLC speaker exchange. We wish them God’s blessing for their trip. The Confirmation and Pre-confirmation directors and teachers review meeting was held on September 1, 2022. This was an excellent opportunity for sharing information, identifying trends and challenges of this age group and making recommendations for coming years. Approximately 550 young people attended Peace Gardens Youth Days. With thankful hearts, we continue to see God’s blessings with our young people. May He continue to give increase. Ordinance and zoning changes have been made to accommodate large event gatherings at Silver Springs. The restroom construction work at Silver Springs continues. Work on this project slowed down significantly following summer services this year due to volunteers’ busy work schedules. Now as fall arrives workers are returning to complete this project. The goal of 2023 Summer Services completion is well within our reach. Camping at Silver Springs for Summer Services remains popular. The remaining 24 sites not under a ten-year contract will be sold at a prorated amount to those who are randomly selected via a drawing of interested parties. Addition of another 100 campsites is under consideration. Developments will be communicated to congregations as more concrete plans are made. Are you interested, or do you know of someone who might be interested in working as core staff at camp next summer? The LLC will be filling four core staff positions at Stony Lake Camp, a caretaker and core staff positions at Hasscib Lake Camp and one core staff position at Kamp Kipa. Contact Phil Jurmu at pjurmu@llchurch.org for additional information and job descriptions. Mission Work Assistant, Adeline Moll, traveled to Ecuador where she will live for five months, working remotely. She hopes to further her Spanish language skills in addition to her LLC work. We wish her God’s blessings in this endeavor. The annual LLC Ministers’ fall webinar will happen on Tuesday, November 3. Topics and other information will be sent to the ministers closer to the webinar date. This webinar gives the opportunity for ministers to gather around matters central to the work and serves as a communication tool maintaining unity and love of the Spirit, all important in our present time. The Communications Department hosted a Content Creators Workshop at Stony Lake Camp in September. The weekend brought together believers from many congregations who contribute to publications projects and efforts in many ways. Plans were laid for services broadcast content in 2023. Work continued on composing introductions to Songs and Hymns of Zion for service accompanists. Writers discussed believer fiction, short fiction for children, hymn writing and podcasts. The Opisto Scholarship Selection Committee recently met and selected 14 scholarship recipients for the 2023–2024 opisto year. The list of recipients will be published after all of them confirm acceptance of their scholarship. Half a year has passed since we launched Hearken, our publications app. We currently have over 1000 subscribed users, and we are grateful that many have found Hearken to be a worthwhile way to access all sorts of LLC publications. Did you know that we add new content to Hearken every week? To find out more about subscribing, go to hearken.llchurch.org It is the time of year when we collect your Christmas greetings to be published in the December Voice of Zion. This year we are collecting them online only. Go to llchurch.org/christmas-greetings to submit your greetings today. We ask for your continued prayers that God continues to guide and bless His work.

Arvin Pirness | The Voice of Zion November 2022 - News and Notes -- November marks the end of the church calendar year and the approach of Advent. On November 1, All Saints Day, we remember with love and longing those who have gained the victory of heaven. When God’s children gather in remembrance, it allows us to see the beauty of the congregation: the throng of escorts who have been and the ones still here. Today, God’s children still journey to heaven. As plans are made for Advent and Christmas, may we thank and praise our heavenly Father for the trials and blessings of our day and the hope of heaven that awaits. The approaching end of this year has us looking towards 2023. The mission department is working on more detailed plans for 2023 foreign mission trips and support for local mission work efforts in the foreign mission fields. This includes communication with the various countries for their input and plans for the coming year, finalizing trip schedules, and remote support in both seminars and service events for those in foreign mission fields. Finance has recently prepared an amended 2022 budget now with January – September actuals and with estimates for 4th quarter. Changes included some larger items for maintenance at our camps and higher income and expenses for Summer Services. We are also beginning to plan for 2024 work! We will plan for the 2024 budget in preparation for the 2024 Operating Plan and 2023 Annual Meeting. Final reports for the camp seasons at Stony Lake, Hasscib Lake and Kamp Kipa are complete. Each camp center is experiencing greater usage year to year. In 2019 there were a total of 2,679 participants and in 2022 we saw 3,272 participants. God continues to bless camp work abundantly. Enrollment for 2023 camp season begins again in January. For 2023, there will be two stages for confirmation school enrollment, like this previous year. Geographical preference will be made again with enrollment through the end of December 2022. 2023 camp enrollment will open on January 9, 2023. Communications will be sent to all confirmation students and parents by the end of November regarding enrollment. Work continues at LLC facilities. Stony Lake’s East and West Bunkhouses along with the garage were reroofed with metal. A big thank you to volunteers who got this job completed prior to the winter freeze. In the area of Communications, you can expect to see two new Christmas publications. Christ Child, our new choral Christmas album, is already available as a CD. Soon it will be available on Hearken and on other digital platforms as well. We will also publish a Christmas coloring book later this month. There will also be a lot of Christmas and holiday content on Hearken. If you already subscribe to our publications app, you will see this content in the app over the next month. If you don’t yet subscribe, consider signing up today! New content created by believers for believers is available every week. In all our areas of work, we see God’s rich blessings and guidance. Here in the U.S., we will soon gather with loved ones around the Thanksgiving table. May one item of thanks be the blessings our church organization continues to experience. God truly cares for His own!

Arvin Pirness | The Voice of Zion December 2022 - News and Notes -- The angels once sang of the triumph of heaven on Christmas night. That glorious hymn is resounding from each generation on. It causes the heart-frost to crumble, my forefather’s as my own. – excerpted from SHZ 28 On behalf of the LLC office staff, I wish each of you a joyous and peaceful Christmas season. Scripture relates that many years ago the heavens opened and heavenly angels announced the birth of the promised Savior, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). The same joyous message of the gospel comforts believers yet today. May the message of God’s perfect gift to humankind be centermost as you gather with family and loved ones this Christmas season. Updates on LLC Activities The Longview, Wash., congregation has called Ward Plough to serve as a servant of God’s Word. May God grant His blessings to Ward and his family. The Cokato, Minn., congregation approved calling Tommi Kinnunen to serve as their congregation’s fulltime pastor. He will begin this work in January 2023. We wish Tommi and his wife Lisa God’s blessings, and we remember them as they prepare to serve their home congregation in this capacity. The LLC Humanitarian Aid has sent annual Christmas grants to the countries where we do foreign mission work. These grants are used to provide food and a small treat for the children. The recipients in foreign mission fields are grateful for the help they receive. Your contributions to LLC Humanitarian Aid efforts are warmly accepted. Interim LLC area mission committees are coordinating area mission committee meetings for the newly formed areas, which were adopted in July at the 2022 LLC Annual Meeting. The East-Central Area which includes the Minnesota, Michigan, and Toronto congregations is planning for a January 2023 meeting. Part of the MW3 work (mission work coordinated by SRK, SFC and LLC) each year is to financially assist the local operations in the foreign mission fields. We are reviewing plans and requests to finalize this area of work for 2023. Signup by geographical area for 2023 Confirmation Schools has begun, with the rest of the 2023 Camp Season signup beginning January 9, 2023, at 11:00 am CST. In the 2022 camp season, the total number of times members participated in camp events was 4301. Camp Changes for 2023 – Peace Garden Youth Days is limited to 350 participants, age 22 and older – Adding Stony Lake Youth Days on Labor Day Weekend for ages 18–21 – In addition to these two changes, we will again host Hasscib Lake Youth Days on Labor Day Weekend for ages 15–17 Eight Confirmation Schools scheduled for 2023 – Three Confirmation schools at Stony Lake – Two Confirmation schools at Kamp Kipa – One Confirmation school at Prairie Shores – One Confirmation school at Hasscib Lake – One Confirmation school at a West Coast location In the Communications area of work, a big effort in the first months of 2023 will be to finalize the LLC history book for publication. This book will cover part of LLC’s 50-year history, which will be observed in a number of ways in 2023. Watch for more information in upcoming issues of The Voice of Zion. On our publications app Hearken, we will begin publishing podcasts in January. Stay tuned for those! If you are not yet a subscriber to Hearken, you can visit hearken.llchurch.org for more information. The following applicants have been selected for opisto scholarships for the 2023–2024 opisto year. We wish you all a blessed time of planning for your upcoming year abroad! Ranua: Megan Hillstrom, Menahga Mylan Strand, Elk River Iina-Matilda Roiko, Elk River Sierra Ylioja, Dunblane Reisjärvi: Victor Huhta, Menahga Linda Kariniemi, Prescott Valley Kiana Koski, Cokato Jenna Pirness, Saskatoon Cecilia Waaraniemi, Phoenix Brooke Ylitalo, Monticello Jämsä: Kelton Klassen, Saskatoon Lotte Wittenberg, Roaring Fork Valley In addition, for Jämsä opisto there is one application pending and one spot available. Let us know as soon as possible if you are interested in applying for a spot at opisto next fall! LLC staff and spouses gather December 9 for their annual Christmas gathering. It gives opportunity to pause and reflect on their calling to serve in the work of God’s kingdom. It also reminds of the generosity of believers who support the work of our central organization. May God richly repay you as only He can. For you all, I wish abundant blessings in the coming New Year.

Arvin Pirness | The Voice of Zion January 2023 - News and Notes -- To God on high all glory be, who sent His Son to set us free, while angels sing with pious mirth a glad new year to all the earth. – SHZ 16:15 The beginning of a new year marks a milestone – a point in time that gives us a reference mark to days gone by. We often find ourselves in contemplation of the past year and even nostalgic of yesteryear as the year ends and another begins. The child of God joins with Samuel’s experience that so far hath the Lord helped us (1 Sam. 7:12). Having experienced His help, we can approach another year and securely trust in God’s guidance and direction for our own endeavor of faith and for the work of His kingdom. I have been touched by the support and generosity of believers in supporting the work. At the beginning of 2023, we prayerfully ask for God’s continued guidance and blessings. The new year 2023 marks the 50th year of the Laestadian Lutheran Church and this thought is on our minds as we plan our service events, camps and publications. Updates from the Mission Department We have committed to quarterly ministers’ webinars beginning in 2023. The first webinar is scheduled for February 3. We have begun planning for staff at Confirmation schools and foreign mission work trips for 2024. This preliminary work is sent to Area Mission Committees so they can facilitate the requests from congregations in their areas for special services and other area-wide events. Updates from the Communications Department In the Communications Department, there are goals in place to release a number of new publications this year. Among these: We will publish one more board book in the current series edited by Ruth DeLacey and illustrated by Karen Fredrickson. This book, titled Now the Day Is Over, will feature an evening song and prayers. We hope this book will find its way into many little hands when evening comes and bedtime nears. A special publication this year will be the first volume of our organization’s history. Watch for more information on this project in coming issues of The Voice of Zion this spring. In a couple months, subscribers to this newspaper will find in their mailboxes the third issue of our annual Easter magazine, Easter Messenger. This publication, which is loosely modeled on Christmas in Zion and centered around the observation of Christ’s death and resurrection, appears to have been well received. Speaking of Christmas in Zion, this year we will produce our 40th issue of that beloved publication. In honor of that, we plan to produce a special Christmas book. More information on that project will be forthcoming. This year we will produce some new music albums. One of them is a choral album on the theme of The Good Shepherd. We will also record songs by North American composers and lyricists for a special anniversary album in honor of LLC’s 50-year celebration year. At the end of summer, we intend to record youth singing at Peace Gardens. In addition to these albums, there will also be some music that will be published only on Hearken, our publications app. In addition to these physical publications, our work continues in digital efforts as well: For several months already, our services broadcast team has been producing audio programs to present during LLC services. Hearken will reach its one-year mark in March. We are thankful that LLC’s own publications app has been received well. We have many more subscribers already than we originally projected we would in the first year after the app’s launch. We will continue to add new content for subscribers’ enjoyment on a weekly basis. We invite users’ feedback as well! Send a note to hearken@llchurch.org For all our publications efforts, we rely on a large number of volunteer content creators. For all these contributions we are deeply grateful. The writings and artwork and other content you produce serves God’s children in so many ways! We will hold another Content Creators Workshop in September at Stony Lake Camp here in Minnesota. Stay tuned for more details! Updates from Education and Facilities Building on the foundations established by the workers of the past we now experience a new set of challenges as our membership increases. Camp work and Education have always tied closely together and this will continue. At the same time, however, we are beginning to see a time of adjustment and work to provide additional support to those who have been called to teach and preach. The focus for 2023 will be to provide greater support for directors and teachers assigned to camps. During 2023 we will continue to provide teacher and director workshops with training on the catechism and its contents. The facilities owned by the LLC continue to serve well. The location of the new office continues to be of greater benefit to many for meetings, conferences and workshops. It is also situated in a way that is more visible to the community. We often receive visitors from the community who are interested in the services we provide. Recently a young mother stopped by who wished to have her infant baptized. The baptism was held in the conference room; it was an opportunity to share the mystery of faith to a member of the community.

Arvin Pirness | The Voice of Zion March 2023 - News and Notes -- Early in history, 40 weekdays became established as the period of preparation for Easter. The month of March contains the period of Lent. You may have heard or even observed fasting customs of Lent where individuals work to simplify their way of living or eating or forgo a particular habit in illustration of sacrifice. However, Christian fasting is primarily a spiritual endeavor and leads one to seek the forgiveness of sins and peace of conscience. As we make our plans for Easter, may God so preciously and graciously allow us to see the treasure of faith and rejoice in the redemption work of our Lord Jesus. Have a blessed time of Lent! Updates on LLC Activities Facilities Stony Lake Camp log restoration is scheduled for the last week of May. Education Preconfirmation camps now are planned as a part of Confirmation Schools. In the year prior to Confirmation School, preconfirmation students focus on studying Luther’s Small Catechism. A Confirmation and Preconfirmation Directors and Teachers workshop was held on February 6. The focus of the workshop was to review the current curriculum, examine methods for conducting discussion periods and review the planning progress to date with each director of those camps. On March 2 there is a Camp Directors and Staff Workshop hosted at the LLC office and broadcast through Zoom for remote participants. Campwork week will be added back to the LLC’s schedule of activities this year. However, a specific week in March hasn’t been formalized. Each congregation will schedule this event at a time that best serves their congregation. The emphasis in Campwork and Youthwork will be on the joy of serving and encouragement to members to volunteer to serve at camps. Mission Department A webinar for the newly aligned area mission committees is planned for March 7. We will review the area mission committees’ administrative responsibilities, scheduling processes and timelines for this year. We will also set dates for fall meetings and establish a list of items to be covered at those meetings. The LLC Ministers Camp will be held at Stony Lake Camp March 31–April 2. Communication Department This spring we plan in a variety of ways to promote awareness of our opisto scholarship program. For the last 40 years, the LLC has sent young people from North America to the believers’ opistos in Finland. To date many hundred North Americans have benefitted from this opportunity, and we pray that many hundred more will benefit from an opisto year in decades to come. One way we’re observing this milestone year: we’ve updated our opisto scholarship application form, now available online on our webpage. The LLC History Project has reached a busy stage of work. As we finalize the content for the history book to be published this summer, we also prepare for festivities to be held in connection with Summer Services in Monticello, Minn. Watch for more information in The Voice of Zion later this spring. This month our publications app Hearken celebrates its one-year mark since it launched. In actuality, the app is older than that – more than three years have passed since it was dreamed up and developed, and two years have passed since the LLC Board approved the proposal to create the app. During these years, it has become clear to us that there is a need for this means of sharing and using Christian publications. May God continue to bless this and all efforts in the work of His kingdom.

Arvin Pirness | The Voice of Zion April 2023 - News and Notes -- Thinking of Easter, I recall singing: on Easter Sunday morning the congregation, in the depth of gratitude, sings praise and thanks to God for the gift of the Lord Jesus – our Redeemer who atoned for our sin debt through His blood. May our voices and hearts join in song yet this Easter, with songs such as this: Here is the Paschal Lamb, the Christ, whom God so freely gave us, who on the cross is sacrificed in flames of love to save us. See, His blood doth mark our door; faith points to it, death passes o’er, the strangler cannot harm us. Hallelujah! – SHZ 112:5 I wish for you and your family a time of still reflection and thankfulness as you celebrate Easter – our day of victory! Updates on LLC Activities The 2023 LLC Annual Meeting notice, agenda, and delegate packet will be sent to congregations mid-April. In addition, the 2024 Draft Operating Plan will be sent for review. The Plan’s theme, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,” from Isaiah 40:31, reminds those together in the kingdom of God that it is of God where our trust is and from where strength is provided for the endeavor. The 2023 LLC Annual Meeting will be held at the Rockford church Friday, July 7, 2023. Planning advances for 2023 Summer Services at Silver Springs. We are receiving quotes for Summer Service expenses and have prepared a budget. We expect the event to cost slightly over $400,000. To fund these services at break-even, we will need approximately $150,000 in collections from congregations and individuals. We will provide more information regarding collections soon. Work continues developing teaching aids for Sunday School and Preconfirmation curriculum. An effort to emphasize preconfirmation lessons as an integral part of confirmation school continues and, during 2023, three preconfirmation schools will be held at Hasscib Lake, one at Kamp Kipa, one in Washington and one in Alaska. Stony Lake camp season began March 31. Spring maintenance projects have been distributed to camp board members and they will be looking for volunteers to complete them. We are planning on 1900 participants at Stony Lake this season. Registration to attend camps is open on the LLC website. Hasscib Lake’s and Kamp Kipa’s spring maintenance weeks are scheduled for May 15–20. Kamp Kipa’s work week will end with a Men’s Camp, May 19–21. Hasscib Lake’s work week will end with a traditional Open House on May 21. Camps operate on a host of volunteers. Please consider volunteering your time and talents. Apply at www.llchurch.org/work-at-camp The Mission Department held a webinar for the newly configured area mission committees (AMCs) on March 7. The webinar focused on the AMC administrative and mission work responsibilities. The LLC Home & Family Committee will hold a webinar touching on the concerns associated with the issue of sexual fluidity in our society on April 14. We have two new publications this spring. One is a board book, the seventh in our current series of board books. It is called Now the Day Is Over and it contains two evening prayers and an evening song. Our other new publication is a choral music album Gentle Shepherd. This contains 20 songs recorded at last summer’s LLC International Choir Camp in Washington. Look for these in your church bookstore or order them on our website. Our Easter magazine Easter Messenger should have arrived in the mailboxes of those who subscribe to The Voice of Zion. May this special publication help bring Easter into your home and your hearts. Once again we completed a weekend of online broadcasting from Winter Services. Over the weekend, there was nearly 20 hours of broadcasting in addition to the service blocks. We will be on air again at Summer Services in July. Meanwhile, you can relisten to some of the broadcast content on Hearken or on our YouTube channel. The LLC Board approved establishment of an Opisto Fund. Donations to this fund via our website will directly benefit LLC Opisto Scholarship recipients. It is our hope that all families with children are aware of our children’s magazine The Shepherd’s Voice. Encourage the young families in your life to subscribe. This magazine is published six times a year. It contains devotional writings, Bible stories and other content and activities geared toward children ages 0–12. It helps support the upbringing in faith done in Christian homes. We occasionally receive requests for new albums of congregational singing. We will be recording congregational singing at Peace Gardens later this year. We are also looking into recording singing at next year’s Winter Services. It has been shown to us that in the publications area of work, our workday includes a mix of digital and traditional forms of publication. We do our best to answer both of these needs. We thank all of you who contribute to our publications with content and input and other assistance. We thank all who subscribe. Above all, we thank our heavenly Father, for this work, along with the other work done in God’s kingdom, is gospel work. May our publications be a comfort and support in the life of believers everywhere.

Arvin Pirness | The Voice of Zion February 2023 - News and Notes -- February is a month of busy planning: Winter Services are a few weeks away, we need people to serve at summer camps, we prepare for Summer Services and the Annual Meeting and we work to prepare the 2024 LLC Operating Plan and the communication plan around it. Plans are well underway for the winter mission trip with Finnish brother Tapani Kinnunen. Tapani and his wife Tuulia’s trip will include local congregation services, LLC Winter Services and LLC Ministers Camp. We extend a warm welcome to the Kinnunens and ask you to remember this trip in your prayers. LLC Winter Services will be held at the Phoenix Laestadian Lutheran Church in Cave Creek, Ariz. Services will begin on Thursday March 16 and end March 19. The motto for these services is “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27). The congregation presentation for services is titled “Faith Guides Life’s Choices.” Welcome to Winter Services. As we plan for big services and the upcoming camp season, I marvel at how God knows our needs and provides for us through His Word. He lovingly provides opportunities for us to gather and hear and learn and to be supported on the way to heaven. May God continue to bless this work, and each of us, till the end of our days. Updates on LLC Activities Again, this year “Camps at a Glance” has been published. You can find it and download it on our website. Online enrollment continues for 2023 camps. It’s important to sign up early to assure the best possibility for attendance. The high number of applicants indicates the interest and importance of our camp program. May God continue to give direction to His work. The LLC board approved hiring Walt and Avis Lampi to serve at Hasscib Lake Camp as caretaker and office assistant. Williston congregation has called brothers Derek Mattila and Tanner Collette to serve as ministers. We remember these brothers in this calling and rejoice with the Williston congregation that God yet provides for the preaching of His Word. The first 2023 LLC Ministers Webinar will be held the evening of February 3. The writing of the LLC history book nears completion. Now the work shifts to further editing, gathering of pictures and other exhibits all with the goal to have the book ready for purchase this year. Finance We are beginning the 2024 budgeting process as we prepare for the 2023 Annual Meeting. The work of God’s kingdom continues to grow, and we are considering the requests from the membership as well as the increasing demands of our current work. We plan to present to the 2023 annual meeting the growing needs with a few budget options. We look forward to hearing from the congregations on how they hope to see the work continue in the future. Facilities Silver Springs RV Site extended year reservations are sold out. There will be 50 electric RV Sites available for reservation beginning March 6 at 9:00 a.m. CST. The price for an annual reservation is $250. The money raised from the sales of extended reservations is used to offset the cost of adding additional electric sites. While our three camp centers slumber under blankets of snow, preparations for the 2023 camp season continue in earnest. We pray that God will give hearts to serve to His children. Active recruitment continues for core Summer Camp Staff for Stony Lake and Kamp Kipa. Education Camp staff, directors and teachers workshop season begins February 6 with a Confirmation and Pre-confirmation Directors workshop. Five additional workshops will be held throughout 2023 on the theme “How to Study the Bible.” Communications It’s a new year and there are new features on Hearken! In January we posted the first episodes of two podcasts, the first podcasts LLC has produced. We hope that this new form of publication on our publications app will provide thought-provoking insight into faith and life as a believer. On Hearken we’ve also begun posting The Voice of Zion in a format tailored to mobile devices. We hope this format enables a seamless and enjoyable reading experience! What do you do on the evening of the first Tuesday of each month? An opportunity that recurs monthly in that time slot is our Writers Workshop. Writers gather both in person at the LLC office and online to write, to share texts and to share thoughts on writing. We view this as a wonderful way to connect with and support the people who in turn support our work as contributors and content producers. We also encourage enthusiastic writers to create local groups to foster skills that can serve the needs of God’s kingdom now and in the future. In this digital age there’s an increasing need to produce audio content, for our Hearken app and for other purposes as well. On January 10, we held our first Readers Workshop. Our goal for that and for future workshops is to help interested readers learn how to best serve in this role. Do you or someone you know have a voice and manner of expression that would lend itself well to reading articles and books for us? Feel free to contact us. The theme for this year’s LLC Winter Services touches on God’s peace (John 14:27). In the past months, much work has been done to produce audio programs that will be broadcast during the services next month. You will be able to hear programs discussing peace, such as what peace is to a believer. You can hear Psalms of peace and other biblical topics. We will also broadcast programs on youth topics and programs in which former youth reflect on life in God’s kingdom in years and decades past. More information on the Services broadcast schedule will be available soon on the LLC website.

Art and Val Harju | The Voice of Zion April 2023 - Home and Family Article -- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. – Gal. 5:22,23 There is joy in believing. When our sins are forgiven, we have peace of conscience. Peace comes when matters are right with God and we are acceptable to Him. Joy comes into our heart when we have peace. Joy is a gift and a blessing from God. It is a fruit of the Spirit that lives in the heart of believers. There is joy in serving others. When we have been asked to serve in some way, we often feel doubts and unwillingness – certainly someone else would be better at this. But when we try to put these thoughts aside and do what has been asked, we find that it is good. Joy comes when we realize that others have benefitted from our service. We have experienced this by helping and giving to others who have experienced the same trials as we have. It is humbling to be on the receiving end of others giving. We might receive meals and other help during difficult times. This is how it was for us when our son was diagnosed with cancer. As we look back at this difficult time in our lives, we wonder how we would have made it without the help of our congregation, members of our community and our families. Knowing how help is appreciated, it has felt good to volunteer and help others in our community and church who are experiencing trials. There is joy in gathering with other believers. It is comforting and feels secure to sit in our bench at services and sing and listen to the service, and then visit with others after. God’s kingdom is a blessing that He has placed on earth for us. It is a secure home where we can be with fellow travelers. We are not alone in God’s kingdom. Surely there are others who have experienced similar trials and difficulties and also similar joys. A joy in our life is that God blessed us with children. They have all grown into adults and gone their way. Some of them have families of their own and God has given us grandchildren. Our children come home often, and we have found that the best times for us are when our family is together. We are thankful that God has preserved each of them in living faith; we can only thank God for this blessing. We know this is not the case in all families. The enemy has been able to entice dear children away from living faith, and this has brought sorrow. We want to pray that God would call those outside of His kingdom, especially those loved ones, that they could return. Sin comes daily, stealing joy on the journey, in our thoughts and words and deeds. We carry this sin-corrupt flesh, and we will have to carry it as long as we live. With sin, the enemy tries to steal away joy from our heart. When this happens, it’s easy to become angry and lose patience with each other. Then too, we have this pride that doesn’t let us admit that I am the one who is wrong. Fortunately, God gives strength to put sin away in the name and blood of Jesus. Peace returns. God has preserved us to this day by His grace. Far above all other blessings, now today I thank You, Lord, that Your wondrous grace suffices, carries with the blessing Word. In Your kingdom I behold glimmers of that joy untold. Guide my way to heaven, ever keep me as Your child, dear Father. – SHZ 430:4 Discussion Questions In our homes, we experience joy in fellowship with family members. How can we foster relationships that don’t dim the joy we find in one another? Joy comes to us when we have sins forgiven. Why might we wish to express this by serving others? There is a cycle: Joy that sins are forgiven, serving others, more joy. Discuss how this might be in your life. How can a congregation create opportunities for more to serve at church? Why is it important to allow others to serve, even when it might be easier to do it ourselves? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in maintaining joy in our lives?