10 Health Tips
Fresh fruits and vegetables are a great quick food choice since they are loaded with important nutrients. 
Test your knowledge of the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables
True or False: Eating cabbage can help reduce the risk of some cancers.
- TRUE: The National Institute of Health recommends eating cabbage, as well as other cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and kale to reduce the risks of certain type of cancer.
True or False: A chili pepper has more vitamin C than an orange.
- TRUE: One fresh chili pepper contains almost 40 percent more vitamin c than an orange.
True or False: Calcium cannot be found in vegetables.
- FALSE: Broccoli, bok choy, and dark leafy greens (kale, mustard, and turnip greens) are all good sources of calcium.
True or False: Fresh fruits and vegetables contain almost no sodium.
- TRUE: Almost all fresh fruits and vegetables are naturally low in sodium.
True or False: The amount of water used in cooking vegetables won’t affect their nutritional content.
- FALSE: When cooking vegetables, use as little water as possible to avoid losing nutrients in the cooking liquid.
True or False: The deeper the color of the vegetable, the more beta-carotene it contains.
- TRUE: The more beta-carotene in a food, the richer its yellow, orange, or green color. Eating foods rich in beta-carotene may reduce the risk of some forms of cancer.
True or False: Fresh fruits and vegetables are composed mostly of water.
- TRUE: An average apple is 85 percent water plus vitamins, minerals, and complex carbohydrates.
Shop for produce and other perishables once or twice a week so you have enough to get you through the week. Keep fruits and vegetables on hand for low-fat, low-calorie snack options.
Fruit and Veggie Recipes:
Apple and Peanut Butter Dip
Sometimes you want something sweet. This is the perfect dish for that moment. It’s not only sweet but it also has protein and fiber.
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup powdered peanut butter
- 1 apple
Mix the yogurt and peanut butter powder together. Serve with the sliced apple
Zucchini Pizza Bites
Ingredients:
- 1 medium zucchini sliced
- ½ cup marinara sauce
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
Preheat the oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the zucchini in to ¼ inch slices. Place onto the prepared baking sheet. Evenly distribute the marinara sauce and mozzarella on top of each zucchini slice, and then sprinkle on the Italian seasoning. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the cheese becomes bubbly.
Contact: Jamie Patel at jamie.patel@nm.org
2024
VBS will be
July 8-12, 2024
Contact: Jill Gillming at Jill@sotpmail.com
Help Needed
If you attend Saturday Night 5:00 pm church service, you might recognize a face or two.
This picture is a group of the Saturday ushers, excluding Pastor Ryan, who faithfully serve on Saturday’s. Many also serve as Communion Stewards. Some were missing because of work or on vacation. If you are interested in serving on Saturday’s, contact Lead Usher Barb Hoppensteadt.
Contact: Barb Hoppensteadt at hoppen@sbcglobal.net
Brick Orders
We are now taking orders for memory bricks for the Memory Garden walkway. We now have 3 orders and need at least 5 of each size to order and get “free freight” from Florida.
- 4″X8″ brick with 3 lines is $80.00
- 8″X8″ brick with 6 lines is $150.
Order forms are in the Church office.
Contact: Ralph Wehnes ralphwehnes@sbcglobal.net
For more information, contact Pastor Mark or Pastor Ryan.
Contact: Ralph Wehnes ralphwehnes@sbcglobal.net
Stewardship
Sunday, November 19 will be Building a Culture of Generosity by Taking a Step of Faith Weekend at Shepherd of the Prairie Lutheran Church. We urge you to plan now to be in church that day. We are looking forward to welcoming Bishop Stacie Fidler as our special guest that day. She will also be joining us for a “Gratitude” luncheon following worship to thank all who love and serve through SOTP. Please register to let us know you will be joining us that day.
Sometimes, we have measured too much of our success on whether or not we could underwrite a particular budget. For this year, we will measure success by how much the people of Shepherd of the Prairie are willing to take the next step in their giving. Instead of strictly emphasizing commitments to the budget, we are asking each person to consider a personal, proportional commitment to the ministries of our church. This biblical approach to stewardship is an effective means of making progress in our spiritual journeys. We are asking not for equal giving, but equal sacrifice in response to God’s many blessings in our lives.
We believe that you, as part of the SOTP Family, are concerned enough to make every effort to come to church on Take a Step of Faith Weekend to make your response.
It will be a special time together!
We look forward to seeing you there.
Grace and peace,
Mike McCann
Stewardship Team Leader
Craft Fair & Bake Sale
Our SOTP Bazaar was a success.
A special Thanks to all who helped to set up and take down our bazaar.
Another thank you to all who baked yummy treats and those who crafted wonderful items for sale.
Of course I wouldn’t forget all those who worked at the Bazaar. Everyone is part of our success.
We earned $2003.50 and every penny has gone toward our SOTP mortgage.
THANK YOU!
From Pastor Mark
The Day of Pentecost the weekend of May 18 and 19 (Wear red to worship)
Have you ever walked into a room or a space of sort and realized that the conversation going on around you didn’t make sense? More than likely you simply weren’t versed in the language being spoken. The world of technology is one of those spaces for me. It wouldn’t make any difference what number of languages you heard; it would be all Greek to you, right?
Well, not if you speak Greek, of course.
The point is, you could not contribute or reply to what is being said other than to shrug your shoulders, accompanied perhaps with a resigned look on your face, and either walk away or hope someone will step forward and translate for you.
In Acts 2:14, Peter addressed a crowd of Godfearing Jews who were puzzled that they could hear the words of the Spirit in their own language through the voices of the twelve disciples (Matthias just being added, replacing Judas, the betrayer). The disciples were not even native to the various languages in the crowd, yet because of the power of the Holy Spirit, each of the twelve could speak in a different language, enabling the crowd to hear what the Spirit had to say.
Others, perhaps those that refused to hear or didn’t understand what was taking place, accused the twelve disciples of being drunk. Peter, however, stood up and told the crowd that the disciples were not drunk, as it was only nine o’clock in the morning.
And so, it goes on today, too; all types of believers continue to speak to others about the power of the Holy Spirit, only to be met with a cool or disinterested response, as if the speaker made no sense at all.
Well, dear ones, like it or not, all of us in this world need to listen to each other and to help one another, whatever the need may be.
Another person’s view of the Holy Spirit may not be the same as yours, but it is not for you to judge so as not to put a stumbling block in their path. Try to live and walk as close to the Spirit as you can, and if your neighbors and people of the world can see how you live and share your faith in words and actions perhaps they, too, will be drawn into a closer relationship with Christ.
God’s mission always begins with a need and then asking the Spirit if it is me to help fill that need. At Shepherd of the Prairie we need more of us listening to the Spirit’s gentle nudge and then stepping up and out to help with the needs that are present.
As the Day of Pentecost approaches take time to listen and lean into where the Spirit is calling you to engage in meaningful ministry in and through the church.
Let’s just not be hearers of the Word but doers as well, remembering that God does not call the equipped but equips the called!
Thankful for your partnership in the Gospel!
Pastor Mark
Email Pastor Mark: pastormark@sotpmail.com
Ushers Needed
Saturday night ushers needed for the 5th Saturday of the month.
You would serve ONLY four times a year. Wanted: two persons or a couple to fill this request.
Please join our Team.
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Shepherd of the Prairie has a document that is helpful to have filled out for your loved ones as they plan your funeral.
This funeral planning guide is available online at www.bit.ly/SOTPplan or as a hard copy in the church office.
From Pastor Ryan
May is upon us, and with it comes the end of another academic year, the end of another year of Adventure Club and Confirmation. I give thanks for Jill Gillming’s leadership with Adventure Club, our Christian education program for 4th and 5th graders. Adventure Club is a true jewel of the education programs at SOTP. Each week, youth go on a figurative, and sometimes literal, adventure as they dig into the Bible and their own faith.
I also give thanks for the leadership of Jess Panella, Tim Torkelson, Carrie McCabe, Josh Harding, Marissa Rojas, Gregg Gillming, Kim Stegge, Bill and Marcia Ball, Kaz Black, and Nancy Hammer, as well as all those who took time to lead a large-group lesson for our Confirmation program for 6th-8th graders this year. We enjoyed a number of great successes this year and look forward to continuing to improve our program in the future.
Among the successes was the creation of a more intentional service element to our Confirmation program. Throughout the year, confirmation youth made hats and scarves to donate for people who would needed them for winter, they stuffed Easter eggs for SOTP’s Easter egg hunt, and they combined seeds and soil in small pots to start plants for Aarrk Gardens. In addition to more service opportunities, we built in more community time each week, and have seen an increase in connections among the youth.
As the Confirmation year concludes, we will set our sights on the fall when we celebrate the Affirmation of Baptism of our current 8th graders. We will also recruit additional leaders and look for ways to build on the successes of this year, with special focus on increasing connections between the youth and the church.
At this point, you may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned Kids Connect. Well, I am excited to share with you that the Children, Youth, and Family Ministry Team has decided to continue Kids Connect throughout the summer! After a good discussion, we’ve decided to offer it exactly as it has been throughout this year. This means it will be offered at both the 9am and 10:45am services, beginning at 9am and 10:45am, respectively. It will be offered every week except for Memorial Day weekend and the last weekend of June. We know that some of you see summer as the time you invite your kids into worship with you to help them learn how to worship, and we appreciate that. Participation in Kids Connect is always by choice. We love having kids in worship, but also want to honor the needs of families who prefer having their kids in Kids Connect. Either way, we hope this will encourage more regular participation from all our families throughout the summer.
This month, I’ll close with a deep and sincere thank you to all who helped make our latest Trivia Night a rousing success! So much fun was had by all. The spirit of competition was felt in the trivia as well as the silent auction, and we were able to raise nearly $7,000 for the Youth Mission Fund! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
May the peace and love of Christ be with you always,
Pastor Ryan
Email Pastor Ryan: pastorryan@sotpmail.com
