Dr.Charles Sundquist

Sunday, Mar. 4, 4:00 p.m : Solo organ recital by  Internationally-Acclaimed Organist Dr. Charles Sundquist

Duluth native and internationally-acclaimed organist Dr. Charles Sundquist will present an organ recital featuring the music of J.S. Bach, J. P. Sweelinck, Helmut Walcha,  Dietrich Buxtehude,  Johannes Brahms, César Franck and Max Reger. Free admission.

Dr. Charles Sundquist, a native of Duluth, Minnesota, is the choral director at Mountain Lakes High School in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey.  Previously he was Director of Choirs at Princeton High School for 15 years. His choirs have sung for ACDA Conventions, NYC, the White House, and his choirs have toured to  London, Paris, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Leipzig, Eisenach, Berlin, Budapest, Vienna, Dresden, Prague and Stockholm.  He is a graduate of UMD, a students of the late Ronald Gauger, and received his Doctorate in Organ Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, a student of David Craighead.

He won a Prix d’Excellence from the Conservatoire de Région de Ruiel-Malmaison in France, a student of Marie-Claire Alain.  While in Paris, he was Associate Choirmaster at the American Episcopal Cathedral, accompanist for a Paris ballet school, and coach/accompanist for members of the Paris Opera Chorus.  Dr. Sundquist was finalist in the Clarence Mader Competition, numerous AGO Regional competitions and recitalist for the AGO Regional Convention in Pasadena, CA. He has held posts as Organist/Choirmaster at First Presbyterian of Santa Ana, CA, Associate organist Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Organ Scholar at Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York City, and associate organist at St. Clement’s, Philadelphia.   He is also currently Musical Director for McCarter Theater in Princeton, and was Associate Musical Director and pianist for their production of My Fair Lady, in conjunction with the Shakespeare Theater of Chicago.

Fri., Apr. 6, 1:00 & 7:30 p.m.: FLC’s annual presentation of The Seven Last Words of Christ by Theodore Dubois.

Sat., Apr. 21, 7:30 p.m.: John Ferguson performs his final concert prior to retirement with the St. Olaf Cantorei

The First Lutheran Church buildings on the corner of 12^th Ave. E and Superior Street, typically referred to as the “Old Dental Building” and the “Transitional Living House”, are being studied as a potential site of a  joint  venture between Lutheran Social Services of Duluth and FLC  to build a  new building called the “Center for Changing Lives”.   It might be helpful to recall the history of those buildings and how this proposed new building fits into our church mission and strategic plan.

The dental building and attached house had long served as a functioning dental office and home for the dentist who developed the office. Sometime prior to his death, he had converted the house into four small apartments which he rented at market rates.    When the dentist was killed in a plane crash, the FLC administrator, Phil Friest, with Planning Council approval, approached the executors of the dentists estate and offered to buy the building.  The idea was that the building would eventually be torn down to provide for more on-site parking for FLC members.

For the first couple of years after the purchase, FLC ran the dental building and house as it had been run by the dentist.  A new dentist rented the dental building and a reality company was contracted to rent out the apartments in the house.   It should be noted that the house itself was not in good condition and was not a quality building from the beginning.

About a year or two after the sale one the FLC pastors suggested that FLC should reconsider the use of the house and make it into something that fit the mission of the church.  The Planning Council agreed and developed a plan to make the house into a place where down-and-out families could temporarily live until they could get their lives back in order.   CHUM was contacted to assist in identifying families for the house.  The house was renamed to the “FLC Transitional Living House”.  A small task force was appointed to oversee the operation.  The FLC Board of Operations did necessary upgrades to the house to make it safe and livable.  The dental building continued to serve as a dental facility.

A number of years later the dentist who rented the dental office retired.  It was obvious that the dental building had become obsolete for the modern practice of dentistry so was refurbished by the Board of Operations as a general office building.  After significant advertising, only one potential renter came forward with a proposal to rent the building, a tattoo parlor.  The Planning Council turned down the offer saying it did not fit the church mission.

Then came LSS of Duluth who offered to lease the building as a visitation center where families and individuals that needed, or required, supervised visits could meet in privacy and dignity. The Planning Council readily agreed to the proposal since it fit with the church mission.   A group of FLC volunteers refurbished the basement of the building and LSS moved in and today runs a very successful program.

The LSS Changing Lives Building proposal would tear down the dental building and the transitional house and build a 10 million dollar building that would house all of LSS Duluth operations including an expansion of the highly successful Renaissance House and Health Center for teenage youth.  Fund raising would be the responsibility of LSS.

The new building would include two levels of underground parking, one level which would be available to FLC at all times, and both levels available to FLC on weekends.  The new parking would increase FLC weekly parking space by about 50% and Sunday parking by about 100%.  More importantly, the new building would move forward the mission of FLC to serve all of God’s children who are in need.  It is a plan that could be a win/win for both LSS and FLC.

The LSS proposal is very preliminary at this stage and there are many questions to be considered and answered.   As the plan moves forward, there will be every opportunity for FLC members to study the plans, weigh in with their opinions, and vote on any major agreements between LSS and FLC.  It is an exciting opportunity and we hope that all FLC members will stay involved and informed.

Submitted by Tom Boman, member of the Board of Church in Society

dated:  9-26-2011

Download this information in a Word document:  FLC-LSS Changing Lives Plan 9-26-11

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View the video

Transcript of It Gets Better Video by Bishop Mark Hanson

The following is the transcript of Bishop Mark Hanson’s remarks …
My name is Mark Hanson, and I am presiding bishop of the largest Lutheran church in North America — the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  I am a father of six and a grandfather of four. I’ve listened with pain and shock to reports of young people taking their lives because they’ve been bullied and tormented for being different, for being gay or perceived to be gay, for being the people God created them to be. I can only imagine what it’s like to be bullied for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.  But I do know how bullying can destroy someone.  One day, I came home and found our daughter curled up in the fetal position on the floor  weeping uncontrollably. She was struggling to know who she was as a bi-racial young woman.  She felt bruised by words people had spoken about her, words that ate away at her sense of identity and self-worth. I sat down by her on the floor holding her in my arms.  Words have the power to harm and the power to heal.  Sometimes the words of my Christian brothers and sisters have hurt you. And I also know that our silence causes you pain.

Today, I want to speak honestly with you and offer you the hope I have in Christ:
You are a beloved child of God. Your life carries the dignity and the beauty of God’s creation. God has called you by name and claimed you forever. There’s a place for you in
this world and in this church. As a Christian I trust that God is working in this world for justice and peace through you and through me.  It gets better.  “For I’m convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”