Calvary Courier. December A Publication of Calvary Lutheran Church, Moline, Illinois. From the Pastor,

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1 Calvary Courier December 2018 A Publication of Calvary Lutheran Church, Moline, Illinois From the Pastor, Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." (Matthew 1:18-23) Pastor, people have said to me on more than one occasion, I have a friend who has just lost a loved one (or been diagnosed with a serious illness, or lost a job, or had their house burn, or any number of other personal tragedies) and I don t know what to say to them so I haven t even gone over to see them. My simple answer to them is that they need not say anything. In fact, there is probably no right thing to say (but I could give you a long list of the wrong things that have been said). If you must say something, I suppose the simplest thing to say is I m sorry for you loss. But what is far more important than seeking that perfect comment in the hopes it will make everything better, is to simply be there for your friend. It is called a ministry of presence. An ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, and arms to hug often do far more to help heal and console than anything that may come out of a mouth. The loving presence of friend with us during one of life s trying times says louder than words, I care and you are not alone. And that is exactly the message of the Christmas story. I am constantly awed by the love of God in Jesus. Through the child of Mary, born in a simple stable of a simple woman, God came into the world to be Emmanuel, to be with us. Think about that. God came to be with us. The supreme being the almighty the maker of heaven of earth. God came to us, simple, struggling, sinful human beings. God came to us, to be with us, in the midst of life s trials and tribulations. God came to us with an ear to listen to us, a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold and arms to hug us. God came to us, to be with us, to be Emmanuel. God came to us in the baby Jesus to let us know that He cares and that we are not alone. It is my prayer for you, as we begin this Christmas season and throughout the year, that you recognize the presence of God in your lives through the Babe of Bethlehem. Know that God is with us. By the birth of Jesus hear God say I care about you and you are not alone. In the Peace of the Season, Pastor Knowles ******************************************************** CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES On Christmas Eve, let us join together and celebrate the birth of Jesus by attending Calvary s Sunset service at 4:00 p.m. or St. James Evening service at 7:00 p.m.

2 BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES Happy Birthday to: 5 Andrew Levesque, Mary Green 9 Dawn Levesque 10 Charlene Lundstrom 13 Karen Thorsvold 20 Ted Peterson 23 Ian Mudd 25 Sidney Mudd 28 Bryan Behrens 30 Joan Winter Happy Anniversary to: 7 Megan & Michael Necessary (2009) OFFICE CLOSED from Dec. 24 Jan.1, 2019 Both Pastor Knowles and Teri Griebel will be off through the holidays from Dec. 24 through Jan. 1, The office will reopen on January 2 nd. DECEMBER 10 NEWSLETTER DEADLINE The JANUARY newsletter will be ready for distribution on December 20. Please have your articles to me as soon as you can, as this will be a short month. You may or put your articles in my box. If you would like to receive your newsletter by , please either call the church office ( ) or secretary@calvarymoline.org with your address. DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS COME JOIN US on Friday, November 30 at 5:30 pm for a light supper with decorating starting at 6:30 pm. We will DECK THE HALLS, the sanctuary, the Upper Room and Erlander Hall for the Christmas Season. More people will make the task go faster. NO CAFÉ during December! During the month of November we received the following word of thanks. Thank you Greg for lending me your copy of the 1995 annual report to copy for the office files. ----Teri Griebel, Adm. Assistant Dear Calvary Friends, Thank you for the wonderful "shower of birthday cards". What a blessing it is to be wrapped in your love and care in such a personal way. I enjoyed hearing from so many of you and I read every one with thanksgiving. I felt I was with you once again as I had my coffee in my "Calvary Cup" and reminisced about all the times I had a cup of coffee and worshiped, fellowshipped, and worked with you in person. Now I pray for all of you every day and wish I could be there in person for some of your 100th anniversary events, but will have to enjoy hearing about them. I would appreciate it if someone would send me copies of the special things you are doing to celebrate. I thank God for all of the people at Calvary who are (and were) a part of my faith journey. What a blessing you are to me and to my family With thanks, love and prayers, Lorraine Beckingham HAPPY HOOKERS will meet Wednesday, November 28 at 9:30 am to package gifts to the shut-ins. We will NOT meet in December. Relax and enjoy the holidays! CHRISTMAS CARDS You can bring Christmas cards for regular attending members and put them in their mailbox. Please mail cards to shut-ins and those who go out of town for the winter or do not attend regularly, so they don t sit in their mailboxes all year. Please put your return address on the envelope. The ANNUAL REPORT information is due in the church office by Sunday, Dec. 30. The ANNUAL MEETING will be held in Erlander Hall after worship on Jan. 27

3 We offer our sympathies and prayers to Karyn Hurst and family on the passing of Karyn s mother, Adrienne Powell. Adrienne passed away on Saturday, November 17. Funeral services will be held at Esterdahl s on Thursday, November 29 at 10:00 am; with a luncheon following at Calvary. May each of you find refuge and comfort in our Lord, Jesus Christ. Christmas Cards to Shut-ins If you are sending Christmas Cards, please keep our shut-ins in mind: AT HOME Lorraine Beckingham Bob & Beth Fuller 155 N Eagle Street # th Street Oshkosh, WI Silvis, IL Kathryn Beardsley Dorothy Hultgren Colona House Apt 907 Overlook Village # st Ave th Street Dr. East Moline, IL Moline, IL Gisele Richardson Marynell Kirkwood Paulson Manor - #141 Friendship Manor st St st Ave Moline, IL Rock Island, IL Gerda Scheltzer - # 203 JoAnn Sullivan The Fountains c/o Mike Sullivan 3752 Thunder Ridge Rd 445 Sparks Ave Bettendorf, IA Wisconsin Rapids, WI NURSING FACILITY Ardeth Lindell Stan Heed Pauline Licko #3225/2 RosalieMellgren Elaine Newberg #3107/2 HILLCREST HOME HOPE CREEK Illinois 82E 4343 Kennedy Dr. Geneseo, IL East Moline, IL Roy Woitte APERION CARE MOLINE th Ave East Moline, IL UP COMING CHRISTMAS EVENTS Advent Lessons and Carols First Sunday of Advent December 2 at 4:00 pm Join with All Saints Episcopal Church and St. James on December 2 at 4:00 p.m. as we celebrate the beginning of the Advent season with Lessons and Carols. WELCA ALL WOMEN ARE INVITED DEBORAH CIRCLE will meet on Tuesday, December 4 at 11:00 a.m. for lunch at Montana Jack's Restaurant, Moline. Make a call to the church office if you would like a ride. The circle will be collecting donations for the brown bag project for Christian Care Center canned food, staples (non-food: laundry, cleaning and paper products.) Items can be brought to church at any time and placed in the room downstairs to the right of the kitchen. Deborah circle has also made donations of socks and hats to veterans. Christmas Caroling All are welcome to come caroling on December 9 at 1:00 p.m. We will meet at church. CHOIR CANTATA DEC. 16 On Sunday, December 16 at 10:00 a.m. worship service, Calvary Choir will present a Christmas Cantata A World of Christmas a choral work by Joseph M. Martin incorporating carols and Christmas traditions from around the world. Please invite your family and friends. EVERYONE IS INVITED to the All Church Christmas Potluck after the Choir Cantata Service, on Sunday, December 16th in Erlander Hall. Please bring a dish to share. Table service and beverages will be provided. Those who are able are asked to bring 2 dozen cookies to share for dessert and later distribution to shut-ins. LUNCH BUNCH Tuesday, December 18 at 11:00 am in the Upper Room. A delicious meal will be served by our committee and Christmas festivities will be enjoyed! Special entertainment will be provided by harpist Veronica Henderson (daughter of former parish nurse, Jenny Henderson.) Please invite your friends and neighbors too - call the church office if you need a ride.

4 DONATIONS through our Website You are now able to make donations to Calvary through our website Just click on the Donate tab. If you need help, or more information, please contact the church office. SERVANTS TO SERVE Scheduling for Christmas Eve Please look over the December Servants Calendar. If you are unable to serve, please let the office as soon as possible. JANUARY and FEBRUARY, 2019 Ushers, Assistant Ministers and others - If you know that you will be gone, especially during the month of January or February please let me know. Thank You. Teri, Adm. Assistant OPENINGS for SERVANTS to SERVE We are in need of Servants willing to serve in the following areas Back Door Greeter, Narthex Greeter, Lector and Communion Assistant. The rotation is usually about once every other month. If you would like to serve on a Sunday morning, please let me know in the office. Usher Openings in We have several openings on our Usher Teams. If you have been asked to sub and would like to be assigned to a team let me know. To those who are already serving as Usher, I will keep you on the same team unless you notify me. These additions/changes should be in the office no later than December 14 th. The new schedule will be distributed in early January for the time period of February 2019 through January Thanks, Teri Griebel, Adm. Assistant The Memorial Tree is a special tree where we remember our loved ones. Memorial Tree doves from last year are on the back table. You may re-hang your dove on the memorial tree. There are also new doves on the table by the Memorial Tree if you would like to remember someone. Please write their name on it and hang anywhere on the tree. May God bless you all this Christmas Season. Thank you for making 2018 a good year at Calvary. We have met our financial obligations and have been able to fulfill our benevolences. As we move into our 100 th year, we want to make sure that we do not grow dependent on the funds received from St. James, so I ask you to be the faithful givers that you are and pray about what God is asking of you in Our gifts from God consist of our time, talent, and possessions, so please share these gifts to the glory of His Kingdom. We are entering 2019 debt free, but there is always more that can be done for the Kingdom. --- Pam Gross Holiday Train Returns! Canadian Pacific Holiday Train rolls in on Tuesday, December 4 at 1:45 p.m. Modern Woodmen Park! Benefiting Churches United Collect canned food and other non-perishable food items, round up family and friends, and c mon down to the Davenport riverfront for live entertainment, hot cocoa and cookies, and a whole lot of fun when the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train rolls in on Tuesday, December 4 at 1:45 p.m. Churches United s 24 neighborhood food pantries and 3 hot meal sites will benefit again from the arrival of the seasonal crowd favorite. Since 1999, the Holiday Train has raised over $14.5 million and 4.3 million pounds of food to help those in need. We cordially invite and urge Quad Citians to donate dollars and give food, especially heart healthy items with a non-expired best buy date, in honor of the Holiday Train event. Goodie bags will be handed out to children age 8 and under, thanks in part to support from SSAB of Iowa. See you December 4th by Modern Woodmen Park!

5 Now $10.00 Make checks payable to: Calvary Lutheran Church Please complete the appropriate information: In Memory of: In Honor of: Given by:

6 Growth in Giving Gift Chart This chart is prepared for you to use as you prayerfully consider your financial gift to Calvary Lutheran Church in Please remember that we give first as an expression of joy and thanksgiving for God s abundant grace in Christ. A second reason we give is that our ministries at Calvary might remain strong and bold in the proclamation of God s life giving grace in Christ. Completed commitment forms can be placed in the offering plate or submitted to the office. Present Giving Per Week Growing 10 Percent Growing 15 Percent Growing 20 Percent $1.00 $5.00 $10.00 $15.00 $20.00 $25.00 $30.00 $35.00 $40.00 $45.00 $50.00 $60.00 $70.00 $80.00 $90.00 $ $ $ $ $ $1.10 $5.50 $11.00 $16.50 $22.00 $27.50 $33.00 $38.50 $44.00 $49.50 $55.00 $66.00 $77.00 $88.00 $99.00 $ $ $ $ $ $1.15 $5.75 $11.50 $17.25 $23.00 $28.75 $34.50 $40.25 $46.00 $51.75 $57.50 $69.00 $80.50 $92.00 $ $ $ $ $ $ $1.20 $6.00 $12.00 $18.00 $24.00 $30.00 $36.00 $42.00 $48.00 $54.00 $60.00 $72.00 $84.00 $96.00 $ $ $ $ $ $ MY PROMISES TO GOD FOR 2019 Name In response to God s blessings to me/us, I/we pledge to God for the mission and ministry of God s church through Calvary Lutheran Church: $ per week/month/year (circle one) for Current and Benevolence expenses. I/we also commit $ per week/month/year (circle one) toward the Building Fund. I/we understand that unforeseen circumstances may affect my ability to honor this pledge. I would like to make this promise in the form of an Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) so that I can support the church regularly even when I am not able to be there. (Information will be provided to you regarding this program if needed.) Sincerely, Your Stewardship Team

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