ORFORDVILLE LUTHERAN CHURCH Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. 210 N. Main Street, Orfordville, WI 53576

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1 FROM PASTOR ANDY TWITON: ORFORDVILLE LUTHERAN CHURCH Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. 210 N. Main Street, Orfordville, WI Office Phone #: (608) Office Pastor Andy s Phone #: (608) Pastor Andy s pastor@orfordvillelutheran.org NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2017 Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices. From Now Thank We All Our God Hymn #840 in Evangelical Lutheran Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, During our summer of joy, I shared the story of Martin Rinkhart. Rinkhart was a minister during the 30 Years War of the 1600s in Germany. He and his family lived in Eisleben, which became a city full of refugees from the conflict. Often there wasn t enough food in the city. Furthermore the city was struck by a vicious plague. At the height of the plague, Rinkhart was doing as many as 50 funerals a day. In the midst of these circumstances, Rinkhart wrote a hymn of thanksgiving called Now Thank We All Our God that Lutheran continue to sing to this day. He lived the verses from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. As we begin the month of November and look forward to Thanksgiving Day, I d like to invite and encourage us to practice gratitude in our homes and congregation. So, what are you thankful for? At Orfordville Lutheran, we have a lot to be thankful for. The Norwegian Dinner always reminds me of this, because people are so generous with their time and resources. On October 28 th, we served over 580 people. OLC is a generous community. Personally, I m grateful for the opportunity to be part of God s ministry here. God is generous to us, and I believe God will provide everything we need to accomplish God s work. God blesses us so we can be a blessing to others. This November, let us give thanks in all circumstances. Thanks be to God for blessing us over and over again! Your brother in Christ, Pastor Andy Twiton

2 HISTORY CORNER - By Lyle Amundson The History Corner is on a break this month. Stay tuned for the History of OLC s Norwegian Dinner in the December Newsletter. Missing Group Photographs We are still missing OLC confirmation group photographs. Please look through your archives of photos for the years listed below. If you can locate any of these photos, it would be greatly appreciated. Bring the original to either the church office or Lyle Amundson. Lyle will make a copy and the original will be returned to you. Please help us with this project The oldest class photo that we have is the 1907 photo. Any photo before that would be great. The photos that we have are in books on the glass display case near the front entrance to the church. Please take some time to look at these and help us identify those who are not identified. Orfordville Lutheran Church will celebrate its 150 th Anniversary as a congregation in UPCOMING EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: November Preaching Preview Here is a preview of upcoming themes and texts: 11/5 God Speaks to Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-18) 11/12 Amos: Justice Rolls Down (Amos 1:1-2, 5:14-15, 21-24) 11/19 Isaiah: A Child is Born (Isaiah 9:1-7) 11/26 Jeremiah s Letter to Exiles (Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14) Reformation Concert This Saturday, November 4th at First Lutheran (Janesville) at 7:00 pm First Lutheran Church (612 N. Randall Avenue Janesville) The South-Central Synod of Wisconsin Invites You to a Special Reformation Commemoration Synod- Wide Event! This once-in-a-lifetime concert and ecumenical gathering will be held this Saturday, November 4 th, 7pm, at the First Lutheran Church located on 612 N. Randall Ave, Janesville WI. Free to the public, the commemoration features a 100-voice Festival Choir composed of singers from various denominations throughout Wisconsin, and accompanied by chamber orchestra and hand bell groups. Clergy from a variety of denominations have gathered together to lead the event, along with Bishop Mary Froiland. The concert will also premiere the riveting choral/orchestral work We Believe, an ecumenical creed from composer Ben Johnston-Urey and lyricist Nancy Raabe. A dessert reception will be held following the commemoration; there is no charge for the event or the reception all are encouraged to attend! For more information go to: bit.ly/reform500 or call The upcoming anniversary of the Reformation is an opportunity for us to be shaped by openness, freedom, and ecumenism. We aren't just commemorating 500 years of the Reformation. What started in Wittenberg in the 16th century changed Germany, Europe, and the whole world. Our world is a global landscape that is constantly changing, as our faith and worship are continually reforming. Through music, word, and prayer, our joint commemoration focuses on the amazing mercy and love of God in Jesus Christ, the firm foundation by which all people of God stand!

3 Remember to Change your Clocks Back One Hour Just a reminder that Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend. Don t forget to change your clocks before you head to bed on Saturday, November 4 th. Otherwise you ll be an hour early for church on Sunday! All Saints Sunday Sunday, November 5th at 9:00 a.m. All Saints is a day where we remember those in the Christian faith who have died in the Lord. During worship we will be remembering those in our congregation who have died in the past year by name. We will also have a time when everyone can light candles for their loved ones. In prayers, songs, and candle light we will remember our loved ones and cling to our hope in the resurrection. We hope you will join us for this special day. Bingo & Potluck Sunday, November 5 th The invites everyone to stay after worship service for fellowship, fun (Bingo) and food. We ll be having a potluck; so don t forget to bring your dish to pass. Quilting Begins Monday, November 6 th at 9:00 a.m. The Quilting meets on the 1 st Monday of the month (November through May) at 9:00 a.m. Please contact Pat Burtness, at , with any questions. Senior Luncheon Tuesday, November 7 th at 11:30 a.m. The Senior Luncheon will be in OLC s Fellowship Hall on Tuesday, November 7 th. Join us at 11:30 a.m. The menu for this month is Chicken Ring, Sweet Potato Casserole and a delicious Dessert. Coffee and water is also provided. Bill and Bonnie will provide musical entertainment. Progress Meeting for 150th Celebration Sunday, November 12 th after We ll meet to discuss the progress on the planning of our 150th Celebration. Everyone is invited to attend. Future progress meetings will take place on the 2nd Sunday of the month. Sings and Noising Offering Sunday, November 12 th On November 12 th, the will sing in church. Check your couch cushions and bring your coins to church. We ll be collecting a noisy offering to benefit OLC s kids and youth. Church Council Meeting Monday, November 13th at 6:30 pm The Church Council meetings are back on their scheduled week. They will be meeting on Monday, Nov. 13 th at 6:30 p.m. (Second Monday of each Month) Community Thanksgiving Service Tuesday, November 21st at 7:00 p.m. at New Horizon UMC OLC will join Footville Church of Christ, St. Augustine s Catholic Church and New Horizons Methodist for a community Thanksgiving Service on November 21st. Everyone is invited to bring and eat pie afterwards. December Newsletter Deadline Monday, November 27 th If you would like to submit an article, announcement and/or pictures for the next newsletter; please turn in your items to the church office by Monday, November 27 th. Save the Date for Upcoming Events: Annual Budget Meeting Sunday, December 17th at 10:00 a.m. after worship Potluck and Christmas Pageant Sunday, December 17th at 10:30 a.m. after the Annual Budget meeting

4 Sign-up to help celebrate OLC s 150 th Anniversary Included below is a listing of projects that we are working on in preparation for our 150 th anniversary celebration scheduled for September We have sign-up forms in the Narthex for a few of the projects. Please sign-up if you are willing to help with any of the projects. 1. Biography of each of the pastors that have served our church these 150 years: We are still seeking a biography for Pastor Carmen Thronson. If anyone can provide us with a name and address or telephone number of someone in the Pastor Carmen Thronson family, it would be greatly appreciated. If you have any information, please pass it on to Pastor Andy or Lyle Amundson. 2. Old photographs: We are seeking old photographs pertaining to the church or parsonage. We will copy and return your original. 3. Historic Quilt The historic quilt hangs in the display case in the Narthex. There is an alphabetical list (on the bulletin board) that contains the signatures on the quilt. We are seeking the following for each person: birth year, death year, spouse, parents, children. Please sign behind any name for whom you can provide some information. 4. Planning the celebration: Please consider working with Pastor Andy to discuss various ideas for the actual celebration. What types of events should we consider? If you are not interested in working with Pastor Andy on discussing the plans, please offer your suggestions. The more ideas we have the better. Progress meetings will be taking place on the 2 nd Sunday of each month. Everyone is invited to attend any (or all) of the planning/progress meetings. PLEASE help us out in any way that you can. We hope that all plans can be completed by our next annual meeting in February In lieu of signing these forms, you may contact one of the following: Pastor Andy pastor@orfordvillelutheran.org Lyle Amundson dsamund@t6b.com Sue Draves office@orfordvillelutheran.org Updating Our Records - Check your information in the Narthex Every year, OLC attempts to call every member to prepare for the Norwegian Dinner. If you did not receive a call this year, it may be because our records are out-of-date. We want to be inclusive, so we apologize if we missed you by mistake! In the Narthex, we have a list of all our current contact information. We send several announcements out be , so please be sure to include an address (if you have one). This will also give us an opportunity to make sure everyone is receiving our newsletter by mail or . We re asking everyone to look at your information; either initial as correct or update your information. If you are not on the list; please add your family to the last page. You may call the church office with your updates; as well. Thank yous and Thanksgivings: Thank you to all the members of our Altar Guild! We met during October to plan the year, and it s amazing all that our Altar Guild does to keep our worship life moving! Thank you to Ken and Karol Heller for arranging for a hay ride for both our Kids and for our older youth! Thank you also for all the delicious food you provided and the pumpkins for carving! Finally, thank you to everyone who volunteered and donated towards the Norwegian Dinner! We served 580+ people! Thank you especially to Terry Gerber for his leadership! Thanks be to God for all the blessings of this past month!

5 November Birthdays 1 Matthew Cronk 16 Colt Peterson Note: 2 Patricia Johnson 17 Brett Frame Please help us keep our 4 Doug Dickison 17 Madison Melms birthday lists up-to-date. If you 4 Dylan Johnson 21 Laurie Hazeltine see an error or if we missed 9 Sarah Lund 21 Cody Scott someone, send us an at 10 Lucy Strehlow 22 Lee Bohnhoff office@orfordvillelutheran.org 13 Camden Elgersma 23 Christopher Dickison 14 Todd Onsgard 29 Josh Strehlow 16 Jenna Lund Acolytes for the month of November: 11/5/17 Autumn Pautsch & Volunteer Altar Guild Person(s) of the Month: 11/12/17 Need Volunteers Kathy Demrow & Kari Peterson 11/19/17 Autumn Pautsch & Alex Burtness 11/26/17 Olivia Paulson & Ashley Lahaie Office Assistant Hours Tuesday-Friday, 8:30-10:30 a.m. OLC s Office Assistant, Sue Draves, will be in the office Tuesday-Friday from 8:30-10:30 am. You can reach her by at office@orfordvillelutheran.org and You can reach Pastor Andy on his cell phone or by at pastor@orfordvillelutheran.org. Pastoral Care and Prayer If you re facing a surgery or a crisis or if you just need someone to talk to, please let Pastor Andy know by contacting him or by calling the church office ( ). If you would like to be supported in prayer by our prayer chain, please contact Nancy Dickison ( ) or Pastor Andy. Pastor Andy may be reached by at pastor@orfordvillelutheran.org or on his cell phone at Hayride to Ken & Karol Heller Farm Pet Blessing

6 Youth Pumpkin Carving Norwegian Dinner

7 OLC S calendar NOVEMBER 2017 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday All Saints Sunday 5 10:15 a.m. Bingo & Potluck Quilting Begins 6 11:30 am Senior Luncheon Sings & Noisy Offering 10:00 am 150 th Progress Meeting 10:15 a.m. 10:15 a.m :30 pm Church Council Meeting 7:00 p.m. Community Thanksgiving Service at New Horizon UMC No Today 26 No Sunday School Today December Newsletter Deadline No Healthy Ladies Fitness Today 30