The Living Reminder God's Purpose for Our Saviour's Lutheran Church is to joyfully share God's love with all.

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1 The Living Reminder God's Purpose for Our Saviour's Lutheran Church is to joyfully share God's love with all. Volume 18 Issue 12 Dear Friends, DECEMBER 2018 This Sunday, December 2, begins the season of the church called Advent. It may be a time of reflection, a season of gathering with family and friends at church, or a time of renewal. One startling scripture that is read, traditionally in Advent, records the words of John the Baptist, who went out to the region of the Jordan River and was proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. According to the Gospel of Luke Chapter 3, John reminds us of the Old Testament scripture from Isaiah, announcing the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John seems to call to us, challenging us to return to the Lord. This John, the one our Lord Jesus Christ describes as the greatest of the prophets, is a man with quirky ways. He lives off the land and he preaches to people who come out of the city to listen. Known to us as John the Baptizer, this prophet wants to help us prepare to receive Jesus. After scolding the hypocrites, John the Baptizer gives great advice to seekers: Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise. He also blurts out advice for tax collectors (and other professionals), Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you. To military men John commands, Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and to all of us who have worked in public administration and safety careers, John advises, be satisfied with your wages. These are challenging words, for our challenging times. In this season of Advent, beginning of the new Church Year, many of us at Our Saviour s Lutheran Church are seeking guidance from the Lord for how we shall live and how we shall serve the church. Many in our congregation are working hard to remember those who are cold and hungry in Casper. For these, and for all sleeping in warm beds, eating hot food, God has sent His Son as Saviour. Thank the Lord for the Gospel of Luke, where we read of a little child sent to a virgin s womb, the One called the Son of God! This child, once grown in wisdom and in years, shows up to show us the way. My simple prayer for all of us, this season is, Lord, show us the way. May our thoughtful moments and our merry celebrations of Christmas this year, bring us ever closer to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Perhaps, this season you or someone in your family will hear John s prophecy of how our Lord Jesus Christ will baptize us, one who is more powerful than I is coming He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. At Our Saviour s Lutheran Church we are worshipping that One, our Saviour Jesus Christ, every Sunday. May this Christmas season be a time when you remember your own baptism into Christ, and when you share the story of your baptism with someone who needs to hear your story. I invite you to faith, I invite you to church, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pastor Jo Ann Neal

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3 Scandinavian Bake Sale Events: Pricing and Packaging Baked Goods, Friday, December 7th Bake Sale Saturday, December 8th Both in the Fellowship Hall / OSL We always need ladies to assist during the Bake Sale. If you re interested please come join us between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Remember, the more baked goods we have for the Bake Sale, the more ministries we re able to financially support in the Casper community and at Our Saviour s Lutheran Church. Thank you to the entire congregation for continuously supporting the WOSL. We could not do the things in the community and for our congregation for continuously supporting the WOSL. We could not do the things in the community and for our congregation were it not for you and your generosity! Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up! - Galatians 6:9 Blessings, Kristi Desch, WOSL President YOUTH NEWS The Rocky Mountain Synod Youth Gathering January 19-21, 2019 is officially postponed. Some of our Youth Leaders and Youth were looking forward to it; however, there were not enough local registrations for it to happen this time around. Let s set our sights on 2020! In the meantime, let us also plan to join Wyoming Congregations as our Dean, Pastor Brenda Frelsi and other Wyoming Conference Pastors prepare for a Wyoming Youth Retreat. Details will be forthcoming! Thank you for your support of our Youth Ministry Program here at Our Saviour s and thank you for always supporting our youth! - Pastor Jo Ann Neal DECEMBER GREETERS 2nd: Jerry & Shirley Bonnet 9th: Ray & Tina Wulf 16th: Dennis Gries & Joan Brust 23rd: Don & Jan Pearson 24th: 5pm Randy & Heidi Sides 7:30pm Judy Sumey & Friend 11pm Jill Lazar & Friend 30th: Ralph & Susie Stanley Lectionary Text Studies* Wednesday Mornings 10:30 am in Conference Room w/pastor Jo Ann *To explore each week s upcoming Sunday lessons.

4 Contribution Envelopes will be ready late When you begin to use these please discard all old ones as your new number will not be the same. If you do not find a box of envelopes with your name on it, please contact Kathy Seth in the office at or her at finances@oslwyo.org. The Women s afternoon Bible study group will meet on Wednesday, December 12th at noon. We will celebrate with a potluck followed by a Christmas devotional. All women are invited & welcome! On November 11, 2018, Our Saviour s Lutheran Church welcomed the following new members and transfers to our community of faith: Dan Casebolt Janice Kalasinsky Pat Leimback Bucky Smart Leigh Van Tassel Hannah Van Tassel Marking the days from Advent through Christmas to Epiphany - Inspiring, meaningful family time from Advent through Christmas to Epiphany is a challenge for many families during the rush of preparation in the church and home. Families Celebrate Advent & Christmas creates opportunities to celebrate and play at home from the first Sunday of Advent (Dec 2) to the day of Epiphany (Jan 6). This colorful deck of cards is full of rituals, prayers and reflections created with young families in mind. All-new content was created by pastors Melissa Bills and Anne Edison-Albright and illustrated by Claudine Gevry. Cards can be hole-punched and hung on a Christmas tree, carried by children throughout the day or used as a reminder of the seasons around the home. Our Saviour s will give a deck of cards to each family with school-aged children on Sunday, December 2 and Wednesday, December 5th. Congratulations to Calvin and Audrey on the birth of their first child, a new born son, named Lyle Whited! Welcome & Witness Ministry Team: Advent Midweek Services on Wednesday, December 5, 12, & 19: Soup Supper at 6:15 followed by Holden Evening Prayer at 7pm Four Sundays in Advent: December 2, 9, 16, and 23 at 9:00am. Two families are needed to light Advent Wreath Candles and say prayer on Sunday, December 9th and 23rd. CANTATA Sunday, December 9th, Christmas Presence by Pepper Chaplin and c/o OSL Music Director Carolyn Deuel. CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLE LIGHT SERVICES: 5:00pm - geared towards family & youth; 7:30pm - no youth sermon; 11:00pm No worship service on Christmas Day

5 The Sanctuary Singers have a new Cantata to be presented December 9th during the service with orchestra. It is CHRISTMAS PRESENCE by Pepper Choplin. We will soon be incorporating it into our Sunday rehearsals, which take place at 8:15 am before the service begins and after worship until close to 11:00 am. We would love to have you join us! The Festival Choir and Orchestra concert will take place at OSL on December 8th at 7:30pm. This community project, directed by Carolyn Deuel, began in 1978, and singers are invited to come together for six rehearsals, culminating in the concert. The Church in Society Ministry Team is collecting Christmas gift items for our food distribution clients once again this year. Items needed can be found on the tree at church. The gift cards requested will be given to our clients children, ages 18 and under. During the month of November, we were able to purchase chickens and turkeys for 52 families! Thank you for your continued support of our clients and their families. Blessings to all of you! The Christmas Trees will be set up and the sanctuary decorated on Sunday, December 2nd, following the congregational meeting. Everyone is invited to help decorate! News from Our Saviour s Preschool & Child Care Center We ve had an amazing fall! October is Fire Safety Month and we had a visit from Smokey the Bear as well as the Casper Fire Department. We even got to spray the fire hose! We visited the quilters on October 30 and hade a lot of fun learning about how they create their beautiful gifts of the heart. We had a great time! November has been a busy month discussing things that we are thankful for. With the help of the children, Kathy Seth, Miss Megan (who cooked) and our Preschool Committee, we shared our Group Soup with our families. We are thankful for the support of the church and the love of God. We also started practicing for our Christmas Program, The True Night Before Christmas which our special event of the season. All of our 2-5 years olds will be participating. See you there! Dianna Webb, OSL Preschool & Child Care Director

6 Our Saviour s Lutheran Church, NOTES OF THANKS Thanks so much. Your generous and faithful support means so much to Interfaith. Today and every day we are grateful for the difference you make in the lives of so many. Blessings! Interfaith Staff Our Saviour s Church Family, Thank you to all the people at OSL who prayed before, during, and after my heart surgery. My family especially appreciated your prayers for them as well as for me. I also had many pray warriors in several states praying for me. Prayer is wonderful and God is good all the time. Without God nothing is possible but with him all things are possible. Word s cannot express my thankfulness to all of my OSL family. Love in Christ, Janet Hilde Regarding God s work, our hands : Thank you, thank you, for the wonderful package of goodies. It was such a blessing to receive such things. In God s love, Ellen Kitts, #910 Dear Friends in Christ, Please accept my sincere gratitude for the good well wishes on my retirement from the church. Your thoughtfulness and generosity are so indicative of the giving spirit of this community of faith. I am proud to continue to worship and fellowship with you. You remain in my thoughts, prayers and heart as we all strive to follow in Christ s footsteps serving our Lord and one another. In Christ s Peace, Tina Wulf

7 November 12, 2018 Minutes Council Meeting Our Saviour s Lutheran Church God s Purpose for Our Saviour s Lutheran Church is to joyfully share God s love with all. Present: Bill Hunt, Sonja Leimback, Ralph Stanley, Michael Stanley, Bob Whited, Calvin Whited, Lance Neiberger, Travis Sides, Cynthia Sides, Pastor Jo Ann, Randy Sides, Patrick Sides, Lynsey Sides, Dave Branson, Connie Arnold, T.J. McLaughlin, Doris Waddell, and Berta Hartford. Absent: Cheryl Wrasper. The Special Budget Meeting was Called to Order by President Bill Hunt at 7:02 p.m. Pastor Jo Ann led an Opening Prayer. Bill clarified that only board chairs have a vote at council meetings. Co-chairs have one vote between them. Lance presented a basic outline of the budget. Council reviewed the proposed budget line-by-line. Under Church in Society, Community Outreach, it was determined that this would include God s Work Our Hands and $750 was budgeted. Worship is the most important function in our church. Changes to their budget included: Advertising & Promotions from $1,500 to $2,000; Sanctuary Computer/Tech from $200 to $500; Copyright License Fee from $900 to $1,000; Altar Supplies from $850 to $1,000; Miscellaneous Worship Expenses from $600 to $500; Music Supplies from $550 to $500; Hymnal/Bible Replacement from $0 to $300. Worship also requested two new line items, Guest Musician ($500) and Purchase Guest Material ($250). This money would be used to bring contemporary music led by a guest musician to our worship services. Office Expenses included Reconciliation Discrepancies; and a new line item for Background Checks ($400). Education requested 5005 Sunday School Expenses increase from $400 to $600; 5015 Adult Education Expenses from $600 to $750; and 5020 Vacation Bible School Expenses from $200 to $1, OSL Youth Activities was increased from $1,200 to $1,500. Bill explained that the Preschool budget reflected a $23,000 deficit. Executive Committee is taking steps to bring this budget into balance. Under Other Expense, Endowment Distribution was changed from $20,000 to $25,995. Doris moved to accept the budget as presented, seconded by Connie. The motions passed. The budget for 2019 as approved will be presented to the congregation at the Congregation Meeting on December 2 nd. Church in Society is listed twice. Pastor s Discretionary Outreach is listed as a line item three separate times. Lance will review this with Pastor Jo Ann. At 6%, our Synodical Benevolence is under the 10% recommended by Synod, but still a higher percentage than most congregations. Adjourned with The Lord s Prayer. Respectfully submitted, Berta Hartford

8 Our Saviour s Lutheran Church 318 E. 6th St. Casper, WY Please STAFF: Carolyn Deuel, Dir. of Music artcorewy@aol.com Tammy Ellis and Sara Whited Custodians Pastor Jo Ann Neal pastor@oslwyo.org Kathy Seth, Financial Secretary finances@oslwyo.org Dianna Webb, Preschool Director director@oslwyo.org Office Manager office@oslwyo.org OFFICE HOURS: 9:00 a.m. 3:00 p. m. Phone: Fax: LINKS: OSL: oslwyo.org Rocky Mtn. Synod: rmselca.org ELCA: elca.org facebook.com/osl.casper Please let us know if you have news, stories, or articles for the monthly newsletter: office@oslwyo.org. Newsletter deadlines will never be earlier than the 20th of the month. You cannot go wrong if you shoot for the 20th! ADVENT MIDWEEK SERVICES Wednesday, Dec 5, 12 & 19 Soup Supper at 6:15 pm Holden Evening Prayer Service at 7:00 pm FOUR SUNDAYS IN ADVENT Dec 2, 9, 16, 23-9:00 am worship with Special Advent Wreath Candle Lighting & Prayer *Two families needed for Dec 9 & 23! CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLE LIGHT SERVICES 5:00 pm - families and youth 7:30 pm - no youth sermon 11:00 pm CHRISTMAS CANTATA Sunday, Dec 9 at the 9:00 am service Christmas Presence by Pepper Chaplin c/o OSL Music Director Carolyn Deuel OSL PRESCHOOL CHRISTMAS PROGRAM Friday, Dec 14 at 7:00 pm The True Night Before Christmas All are invited and welcome to attend!