Oak Knoll News

In a continuing effort to keep the congregation informed on the issue of affordable housing, the Oak Knoll Beacon Housing Committee likes to share relevant housing articles, information and events. The following message is from the 2025 Beacon year-end report. A Message from Chris LaTondresse Dear Supporters, This past year has tested our community in profound ways, especially our friends and neighbors overcoming homelessness. Across Minnesota, we see a rising need for

I want to thank you for electing me as president of the Oak Knoll congregation for the coming year. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve our church community. First, I want to extend my gratitude to Marget Schmidtke for her leadership and steady hand as congregation president in 2025, and to Ben Larson for his expert oversight of our financials as treasurer the past two years. Thanks to both of you for your service to Oak Knoll. Thanks also to Emily Heyne as wel

Staff of Mwangaza, a registered non-governmental organization (NGO) in Tanzania that works in schools and communities to promote peace and education. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb On January 1, Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry (LPGM) officially merged with another nonprofit, Friends of Mwangaza (FOM), to support Mwangaza Education for Partnership (Mwangaza) in Tanzania.

Greetings! I wanted to share some wonderful news with you all. Oak Knoll has generously donated over 1000lbs of products and food to our mission partner, the ICA food shelf, in the past few months. This incredible response has truly made a difference in supporting our neighbors in need during the holiday season. We received a fantastic variety of donations, including personal care items, paper products, pet food (because furry friends need love too!), and a wide selection of

Written by Matt Cerar, Music Director Lent is coming soon! In February, the vocal choir will provide a few wonderful selections for our February 15th service as we wrap up the season and head into lent. On Ash Wednesday, Amy Runge will provide special music for our 6:30pm service. We will then have Wednesday evening services throughout Lent, which will feature Holden Evening Prayer, as well as “Bless This Night” - our new liturgy that we introduced last year. Both settings

In January, the children settled back into their school routines, and we began to study the season of winter. Children enjoyed various activities such as comparing snowflakes, observing changes in ice, learning and retelling Jan Brett’s story The Mitten and creating several winter inspired art projects. With the milder temps the first part of the month, we were able to enjoy outside time and our new snow. In January we opened enrollment for current families and to new fa

Written by Christina Black, Children, Youth, & Family Ministry Director Prayers and Hopes for the New Year At January’s Confirmation and Sunday school Dinner & Family Night, we reflected on how we are all connected in Christ. As members of one body, we lift one another up—encouraging, supporting, and praying for each other. Together we wrote prayers and hopes for the new year and linked them into a paper chain as a reminder of our shared faith and connection. 54 Boxes,

Curious Readers is an online group that studies different theological books throughout the year. We choose books that are accessible and thought-provoking. Each week we read one chapter of the book and then questions are posted to our email group. Over the course of the week, people answer some or all of the questions, and group discussion ensues. This group will begin for the season the week of February 9th. This winter/spring we will be reading Sarah Bessy’s book, Field N

Rick Johnson will present a 9-week Bible History class on Monday nights from March 23rd to May 18th . The class will be held from 7-8:30pm in the Rose Room. Through Old Testament Bible readings, historical background readings, class member participation, and videos, we will look at Old Testament biblical leaders- women and men-covering: the period of the Judges, Samson, Ruth, Samuel and David. This class is for anyone interested in learning about the Old Testament regardless

What if the opposite of being bound is being whole? Our world is filled with things that hold us captive. These things that bind us prevent us from living the whole, abundant life that God has promised us. This Lenten season, through the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis, we will explore how God meets us as captives and leads us to wholeness. Wednesday Evening Services: Join us on Wednesday evenings during Lent for soup supper at 5:45pm followed by Lenten worship a

My oh my how time flies by! I can hardly believe that it is already February! January was a quiet month after the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. It has also been busy at the same time. We had our Annual Meeting this month, where we got to celebrate our highs over the last year and get excited about our ministries to come. I got to help plan the Vatican Unveiled Trip to the Mall of America. It was such an amazing time seeing so many different church history artif

Packing hygiene kits for Lutheran Social Services at Oak Knoll Lutheran Church. January—Amazing Grace Lutheran Church Amazing Grace is Oak Knoll’s relationship partner. It was formed in 2018 to bring the Gospel to the Hmong and to bring the Hmong to the amazing grace of God. They are located at St. Philips Lutheran Church in Fridley. Representative: Pastor Jay Rudi February—Lutheran World Relief LWR reaches out to people around the world to help those experiencing poverty