November Newsletter «TITLE» «FIRST_NAME» «LAST_NAME» «ADDRESS» «CITY», «ST» «ZIP» www. saintolaflutheran.org

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1 Return Service Requested November Newsletter Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Cranfills Gap, TX Permit No. 2 St. Olaf Lutheran Church 402 Meridian Street Cranfills Gap, TX «TITLE» «FIRST_NAME» «LAST_NAME» «ADDRESS» «CITY», «ST» «ZIP» 8:30AM A D U L T S U N D A Y S C H O O L 9 : 3 0 AM W O R S H I P Office: Interim Pastor Ryan Pederson Council President Phyllis Rieser Office Secretary Angela Roberson www. saintolaflutheran.org saintolaflutheran@gmail.com

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3 Heritage of Faith Centennial Celebration of the Brick Church Corrections or additions should be sent to:

4 To all, This past Sunday was an amazing day of celebration. I wish that I could describe it in more eloquent terms. Harold counted about 291 people in the morning worship service but it felt like many more. It was quite evident that Saint Olaf has touched many lives and families throughout the years. The music brought many people to tears including myself. The sound of the organ, the congregation singing and the special music was better than I could have ever expected. For me, the Bishop delivered a message that helped put our current world in perspective when compared to He has a wonderful style that is light and fun yet he always leads you to the important message. He reminded us that we may fondly look back as days gone by as a simpler way of life but it really wasn t in 1917 with World War I in progress and fear of German saboteurs. He also challenged us all to think about what people would say about St. Olaf in another 100 years. I have been reflecting on that message all week. I believe that challenge to live our mission statement (Worship, teach, nurture & share Christ s love) in our community is one that we must keep foremost in our mind as we move forward in this next 100 years. The dedication of the historical marker was also very special. Those Edwards boys were right up front showing pride in their marker installation work. Rita covered the marker with a friendship quilt top made before 1900 by one of the St. Olaf circles. Some families were very touched by the names of their family members embroidered on that quilt top. We were blessed to have so many volunteers participating in the service, helping with set up and take down, serving food, working the registration, book, and mug tables, and just welcoming our guests. Thank you to all these hard workers. Your dedication to this event was unbelievable. I hope that you will enjoy the photos in this newsletter. A slide show is also being put together and will be posted on our website so you can see all the events including the gospel music event at the Rock Church on Saturday. As we move toward Thanksgiving, I will be giving thanks for all those people who make St. Olaf who it is today while remembering the dedication of those who came before. Blessing to you all, Phyllis Rieser Church Council President Niki Warms the Cold - Bacon Bash 2017 was a success!! Proceeds from this event benefit Niki Warms the Cold and Juvenile Diabetes. A special thanks to Pederson s Natural Farms out of Hamilton and the Moxie Room out of Comanche for all the time and energy they put into this event, also to all those who volunteer! We will meet Monday, October 30 th, to get the final numbers and I will try to remember to update! As I was separating the items that were donated at the event: big blankets, small blankets, coats, and socks I began to cry they were good tears! People pay $40 to $65 to come to this event yet they took the time to bring items to share the warmth. We purchase blankets, socks, winter hats, hoodies, gloves, scarves, toiletries, and snacks. This year we will be purchasing rain ponchos and backpacks/bags. On October 1 we distributed at the Church Under the Bridge in Waco and we re waiting to hear back about distributing again in December. Thanksgiving Day we will be in Austin and at the Salvation Army in Ft. Worth December 12 or 13. We will be getting in contact with other distribution sites in the near future. Niki Warms the Cold participates in the Guardian Angel Ride, Angel Tree project, donated blankets and cleaning products after Hurricane Harvey and other natural disasters, donate to the St. Olaf Scholarship Fund, donates to Special Olympics Texas, share blessing bags with shelters and from our cars, participated in Christmas at a Home for Children in San Antonio, and donate to the Hope House and more. Today is a reminder that cold weather is on it s way so thanks to everyone who support our mission as we share the warmth and Hope for Brighter Tomorrows!!

5 The Gap October 23, 2017 Bishop Gronberg s Blog By The Rev. Erik K.J. Gronberg, Ph.D. October 22nd was a rainy but beautiful morning at St. Olaf, Cranfills Gap (Pastor Ryan Pederson). We gathered as the sun broke through for their celebration of 100 years in the brick church. Celebration worship was a wonderful occasion with so many who grew up, had connections to the parish, or had been impacted by the ministry coming back. The population of Cranfills Gap, TX is list at 281 and during worship at least 350 were present. I preached on John 17, the high priestly prayer which was the text at the original dedication of the sanctuary 100 years ago. The wonder of Jesus praying for his disciples and then for US, we who hear the message and come to faith! That is the God we have. A God who intercedes for us and sends us out to proclaim and share good news with all the world. During the afternoon festivities my associate the Rev. Kris Totzke was with the community for a liturgy of rededication. I headed back north on hwy 22 to attend a reformation hymn sing at Trinity, Fort Worth. #NTNL #HOTConference #InMissionTogether

6 M ary Circle: Will meet November 8, Heckmann Hall at 2:00pm M artha Circle: R uth Circle: Will meet November 9, Katherine s House at 2:00pm WELCA News - The St. Olaf WELCA met Oct 4 with 11 members in attendance. Pres. Betty Tindall called the meeting to order in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. The purpose statement was recited. The devotion was given by Charlene Tergerson. The program consisted of members of the Mary Circle reading short stories from Guidepost magazines - -- What Prayer Will Do and His Mysterious Way. There is a Balm in Gilead was sung. Offering meditation was given by Elsie Phillips. The secretary read the minutes of the last meeting. Treasurer, Mary McGowen, reported a balance of $ in the regular account and $1, in the special account. The Septemberfest Booth brought in $ Also, $ has been given to Sierra Leone and $ to Lutheran Disaster Relief - Hurricane Harvey. Pres. Betty read a thank you from the teachers, whom we served lunch in August. A thank you will be written to Karen Sharp for her fine decorating. Betty spent $ for the quilt to be given for the quilt auction. Our ladies will furnish cookies to be served at the Gathering Place, Saturday, Oct 21. Next meeting will be November 1 with Thanksoffering and pre-holiday Potluck Luncheon. It was voted to send $ to Lutheran Disaster Relief Hurricane Fund, $ to Chris Lujan, $ to the funeral fund, and $ to the El Salvador Scholarship Mission. Officers for 18 will be Pres. Betty Tindall, Vice Pres. Shirley Thompson, Treasurer Charlene Tergerson, Secretary Elsie Phillips, and Fellowship/Service Patricia Forsythe. We closed by singing the table prayer and enjoying refreshments served by the Ruth Circle. ~ Elsie PRAYER LIST: Heather Christensen, Margret Turpin, Mary Ann Stokely, Brady Warrick, Kathy Johnston, Ronnie Ogle, Cooper Brown, Martha & Helena McCormick, Dacey Patrick, Josh Wilhelm, Raymond Bailes, Chris Lujan, Larry Barger, Charles Osborn, Daniel Smith, Makayla Pierce, Rev. C. A. Mangham, Donna Mangham, Delbert Patrick, Rick Payne, Tom Pierce, Nikki Stone, Tracy Finstad, Henrietta Medina, Jamie Dittrich, Carla Stanford, Donna Boelter, Greg Kirk, Kenneth Reierson, and The Lutheran Church Sierra Leone, Persecuted Christians SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN: Matthew Medina, Justin Barnes, Kevin Moore, Michael Crackhome, Alex Saborsky, Kirk Luedeke, Daniel Ramirez. Ruth Circle met at Katherine s House in October with nine members and one guest. We welcomed Karen Gibbs into our Circle. Naomi presented a great interactive lesson on part two of The Apostle s Creed. She made sure to include everyone s thoughts on what our first thought or vision was of Jesus. Interesting-most thought of Him as being The Good Shepherd. Wanda served delicious sandwiches and snacks on beautiful cut glass ware. On November 9, Mary Ann will bring the lesson and Anna will be hostess. The group also picked Betty T as Program Chair and Elvira Butler as Fellowship Chair. We also discussed the Centennial and the WELCA potluck lunch at noon on November 1. Mary Circle Bible study was held at Heckman Hall at 2:00 pm on October 11, Those attending were Charlene, Elaine, Lucy, Elsie, and Barbara. Charlene led the study on the second part of the Apostles Creed, a good discussion was held after the study. Refreshments were served while we discussed duties, furnishing cookies for the Centennial Celebration on Saturday at the Gathering Place. Offering of $60. was given. Next meeting will be November 8, same time and place. Visitors welcome. North Bosque Helping Hands Food Drive: Deadline is November 17th. Items needed are Canned Meats, Tuna, Chili, Stew, Chicken, Canned Vegetables, Sugar, Corn Meal, Pasta, Pasta Sauce, Cereals, Flour, Baby Food, Peanut Butter, Dry Beans, Flour, and Rice. Charlene Tergerson will pick up items left at church. Financial Report Receipts Disbursements Net Budget through $64, $59, $4, Actual through 52, , ,798.75

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8 St. Olaf Lutheran Church Worship, teach, nurture and share Christ s love. November Newsletter Article I am writing to you several days after St. Olaf s centennial celebration, so I ve had some time to recover from all the festivities. I hope that you enjoyed the celebration and that you, too, have rested up after the eventful weekend. After all, there was much to recuperate from. People spent months planning the celebration, gathering information for the history book (which turned out very well, not by accident, but because of the hard work of a group of dedicated and talented people), arranging and making repairs to the building, sprucing up the grounds, setting up tables and chairs, and any number of things that I m sure I ve missed. And that was all before the day itself, which was, in fact, two days, Saturday and Sunday. Those two days were full of welcoming visitors, reconnecting with long lost friends, remembering the past, and looking toward the future. After such an anticipated event, people sometimes feel let down. It s not that the event didn t meet expectations, but, because people devote so much time, attention, and energy to something, once it has passed people feel they are missing something. Think of how children feel Christmas evening, after opening their presents earlier that morning. I remember that feeling clearly. You may be feeling something similar to this right now, and St. Olaf, collectively, may feel this, too. I think this is a natural response; we need things to look forward to. Now that we ve successfully celebrated one hundred years of St. Olaf s ministry in Cranfills Gap, to what shall we look forward? To what shall we now dedicate our efforts? How will we be of service to the Cranfills Gap and the surrounding community? How will we adjust to the world around us that is so intent of changing? We could answer these questions in a variety of ways. I would like to hear your thoughts on these questions. In just a few weeks we will begin the season of Advent, a season that is marked by expectant waiting, by hopeful longing. During Advent we reflect on our lives before God and in the world in order to identify what it is that we need and miss. I invite us all to use these weeks leading up to the Christmas season to reflect on and pray for St. Olaf s future in this place. May God give us clarity and imagination as we do so. ~ Pastor Ryan Soup Supper and Advent Services will begin soon! December 6, 13, and 20 at 6:00pm