contents Parting Thoughts 3 Men s Club 6 Birthdays & Anniversaries December 2017 Messenger PASTOR S LETTER

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1 PASTOR S LETTER Parting Thoughts One of my mother s favorite hymns is: God Brought Us To This Time and Place (Lutheran Worship #456) The first stanza reads, God brought me to this time and place, surrounded by His favor. He guarded all my nights and days, His kindness did not waver. His peace as sentinel He gave, my spirit s health and joy to save. To this day He has blessed me. More than 12 years ago I was talking to God in prayer, asking Him to put me in a place where I could serve Him best. I asked for a church that wanted to grow, not only in numbers, but also desiring to grow in faith and in the knowledge of the Lord and His will. Through incredibly unlikely and unusual ways, CLC- Chippewa Falls was led to call me as their pastor. It s been fun and draining; uplifting and discouraging; heartwarming and heartbreaking; rewarding and challenging. I have priceless memories and lingering scars (granted, some of them self-inflicted.) But, all told, given the energy, I would do it all over again. I ve been privileged to serve some of the best people in the world. CLC is unique in that it s origins are based on a vital commitment to the truth of God s Word. Please, never let that commitment fade! Of course, the young among us can t relate to many world-changing events, like Pearl Harbor. Many don t feel the dark impact of the terrorist actions of The natural result of distance from such events is complacency. The founders of CLC made an absolutely correct, albeit difficult decision. These charter members could not tolerate God s Word being compromised or watered down to accommodate a changing social scene. Interestingly, the church body that was left behind has drifted further down a dangerous path, validating their decision. I pray that CLC will always strongly proclaim a proper understanding of Law and Gospel; always maintain the Biblical truth that God comes to us by the means of the Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord s Supper; always hold to the truth that we are saved purely by God s grace, through the faith that He gives us, and through no doing of our own. I mentioned priceless memories a moment ago. I would guess that it might be difficult for you to understand how it stirs my heart to think of the joys of baptizing each infant or adult; to see the faith-growth in the lives of so many confirmands; to see the light bulb go on as people were led deeper into the Word in Bible study; to be up-close and witness the love and the union of hearts and souls as I officiated at many marriages; and to feel that unique blend of loss and gratitude as I helped lay the soul of a departed believer into the arms of God. What a privilege to be a part in the lives of so many from the womb to the tomb! In the months ahead I want to do more reading and studying for personal growth. I look forward to having more time with Machelle, a true faith-partner and a great gift from God. We plan on living here and keeping in touch with all of you. I m sure we ll host the highly competitive fishing contest at our house in the spring and I plan on helping guide novice fishermen at Don s place in Canada. Do pray for God s continued guidance for CLC, as I will. In the meantime, I thank Him for having brought us all to this time and place. Stay faithful, my friends! Still in His Service, Pastor Mark December 2017 Messenger contents 2 Joyful Faith Circle / Mitten Tree 5 3 Men s Club 6 Birthdays & Anniversaries 4 Children s Ministry Update 7 Calendar of Events December Confirmation/ Bake Sale

2 Joyful F a ith circl e SUBMITTED BY FLOWER RAY Joyful Faith Circle met on Wednesday, November 15th. Abigail stepping in against her selfish husband Nabil and confronting David alone teaches us so much. The contagious power of kindness. The strength of a gentle heart through unselfishness and grace, 1st Samuel 25. When these three acts of kindness, unselfishness and grace are shown in our character it can soften hearts and change our lives. Bible verses that relate to what we learned from our story of Abigail, Nabal and David. UNSELFISHNESS: "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2 KINDNESS: "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18 GRACE: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10 Next months meeting: January 17th at 9:30 am in the church library. The next woman of the Bible we will be learning more about is Mary, the mother of Jesus. T h i s mon t h : Wedne sd a y, D e c em b er 1 3 t h at 10 a m Joyful Faith s Christmas outing will be held at Deb s Café. Each Circle member should bring $5.00 donation for Christ Lutheran School tuition assistance. **Reservation number attending was increased for husbands of Circle members. They are also welcome to attend! CLC Mitten tre e Thrivent Financial is helping us to connect faith and finances for good this Christmas season. As God s stewards, we have the opportunity to show His love and share our blessings with our neighbors in Chippewa County. Take a mitten ornament from the tree and leave a pair of mittens for someone in immediate need of warm clothing. We will use the funds from Thrivent donated to our Mitten Tree Project to purchase winter coats. Call or stop in the church office with any questions. Christmas Services: Christmas Eve Morning Worship 9:30am Christmas Eve Candlelight 5:00pm Christmas Day 9:30am 2

3 CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH MEN S CLUB CORNER MEN S BIBLE STUDY: The Men s Bible Study met November 13, In Colossians Chapter 3 Paul, after teaching about the great changes God makes for us and in us in Chapter 1, and after encouraging the believers to internalize what they've learned in Chapter 2, now turns to what we might think of as the "practical" working out of the Christian faith in everyday life. In our November meeting we covered Colossians 3:1-4. NEXT BIBLE STUDY: Monday, December 18, 6:30PM Continue in Colossians Chapter 3 SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES: Is God calling you to use the gifts He has given you for His purposes? We have a continuing need for volunteers for home visitations, for ushers and involvement with board of Deacons. Or perhaps there is something else you would like to help with. God gifts the Church through its members - even you! SERVICE REQUEST: If you are in need of a service to be performed, please contact us via the church office. We are happy to serve your need! F ut u r e Ev en t C a l en d a r : Saturday, Dec 2, :00am Breakfast Meeting Monday, Dec 18, :30pm Bible Study Giving Tree s p i r it o f ch r i st m a s Thanks to the generous hearts of the Christ Lutheran Church congregation our Spirit of Christmas Giving Tree will be overflowing with gifts again this year! Please remember to have your unwrapped gifts to the church by Friday, December 1st 3

4 CHIL DREN S MINIST RY SUBMITTED BY CHRISTI KRANTZ November was definitely a time to be thankful! Our church is blessed with such wonderful children and leaders! Our Sunday School children of all ages got together and read the story of Jesus and the ten lepers and how grateful the one was. (Luke 17:12-19) They all made a Thankfulness Snack to share at Thanksgiving with their families. The Christmas Program will be December 17th during service and afterwards the children will be serving cookies that they themselves decorated for the congregation. All grandparents and extended families are encouraged to attend. The KICK children have been working hard learning a song to sing with the Praise Group and Sunday, Nov 26 was their great debut. They sang with great gusto! We are hoping to have that happen again soon. KICK News November s activity for KICK was creating Birthday Boxes for the local food pantries. Thanks to donations from church members and a Thrivent grant, they were able to put together 36 boxes! This month s fun activity will be roller skating at High Roller on December 3rd from 4:30-6:30 pm. Each child is encouraged to bring a friend. 4 Mark your calendars KICK kids will be visiting Lake Hallie Memory Care on December 20th to Present their Christmas Program God s Gift To Us.

5 suppl ies NEEDED DECEMBER conf irmat ion CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH Acolyte Schedule: 12/3: Georgelle Benson/Kelcey Benson 12/10: Evan Freed/Jordan Bergevin 12/17: Reid Sonnerfeld/Abbigail Volrath 12/24: Nathan Cowell/Conrad Ledebuhr 12/25: Acolyte needed 12/31: Evan Freed/Kelcey Benson Meal Providers: 12/6: MEAL PROVIDER NEEDED 12/13: MEAL PROVIDER NEEDED 12/20: Volrath 12/27: No Confirmation Class Please join us For our Christ Lutheran School s Christmas Program on Monday, December 11th at 12:30pm and on Tuesday, December 12th at 6:oopm. Christ Lutheran School Bake Sale and Cookie Walk Sunday, December 10th, 2017 Let take care of your holiday baking needs! This year we added a cookie walk to our bake sale. You can create your own gift box of treats either for yourself or to give as a gift!! All proceeds will go towards new CLS classroom flooring. } The church is in need of all cotton, good sized dish cloths and dish towels, cookies and coffee. Please mark all donations for fellowship Thank you!! 5

6 December Birthdays and Anniversaries CELEBRATE WITH US FOLLOWING SUNDAY SERVICE DECEMBER 10TH Don Langteau 1 Luke Frazer 2 Staci Marek 5 Ellie Krantz 5 Gary & Gloria Munson 5 Katie Volrath 10 Aubree Bergerson 10 Bob Marek 12 Evan Freed 12 Leonard & Carolyn Licht 12 Shaun Christensen 14 Gloria Munson 14 Corey Walters 14 Nate Wright 16 Jon Taylor 17 Genevieve Christensen 19 Machelle Homp 25 Trevor Weiland 25 Rylan Krantz 26 Jake Buss 29 Mariann Seidlitz 29 Don & Gwen Leifheit 29 ADDITIONAL Inf ormat ion and dat es dec USHERS Jon Taylor Ed Ray dec 11th/12th Please join the students and staff of Christ Lutheran School as they perform their Christmas Program on Monday, December 12:30pm and Tuesday, December 6:00pm. off er ing ENVELOPES 2018 offering envelopes will be available in the Narthex sometime during the month of December. Be sure to pick yours up before the new year! Gi f t s & MEMORIALS A memorial has been giving to Christ Lutheran Church and School in memory of Raymond Smith by his sister Maxine Culver. Wed EVENINGS K.i.c.k. KIDS IN CHRIST S KINGDOM 5:30pm - 6:20pm Kids Ages 3-11 Instructional Activities thank YOU To all who participated in the Turkey Dinner Boxes to help local families in need this Thanksgiving. All dinner boxes were fulfilled and delivered to families the week of Thanksgiving! cont a ct INFO 6 CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH 467 E. Colome Street Chippewa Falls, WI secretary4clc@gmail.com PASTOR MARK HOMP mhompster1@gmail.com

7 CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH d e c em b er Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS GIVING TREE GIFTS DUE 2 8:00AM Men s Club Breakfast/ Meeting 3 9:30AM Worship/SS/ Communion 6:30PM Adult Volleyball 4 5:30PM Bible Study 5 6:30PM Soul Sister s Bible Study 6 9:00AM Peacemakers 4:30PM Confirmation 5:30-6:30PM K.I.C.K. (3-11 years old) 6:30PM Worship/ Communion :30AM Worship/SS CLS BAKE SALE / Birthday & Anniversary Celebration 6:30PM Adult Volleyball 11 11:30AM Bake Sale 12:30PM CLS Christmas Program 5:30PM Bible Study 12 5:30PM Bake Sale 6:00PM CLS Christmas Program NO Soul Sister s Bible Study NO CLS School Board Meeting 13 9:00AM Peacemakers 10:30AM Joyful Faith Circle Christmas outing will be held at Deb s café. 4:30PM Confirmation 5:30-6:30PM K.I.C.K. (3-11 years old) 6:30PM Worship :30AM Worship/ Communion / Children's Christmas Program 6:30PM Adult Volleyball 18 5:30PM Bible Study 6:30PM Men s Bible Study Newsletter Submissions Due to the Church Office 19 6:30PM Soul Sister s Bible Study 20 9:00AM Peacemakers 4:30PM Confirmation 5:30-6:30PM K.I.C.K. (3-11 years old) 6:30PM Worship/ Communion CHRISTMAS EVE 9:30AM Worship 5:00PM Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 25 CHRISTMAS DAY 9:30am Worship Service NO Bible Study 26 NO Soul Sister s Bible Study 27 6:30PM Worship/ CONFIRMATION EXAMINATION CONFIRMATION SUNDAY 9:30AM Worship 10:50AM Deacons & Elders Meeting 7