Emmanuel. grapevine QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF EMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH DECEMBER 2016

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1 Emmanuel grapevine QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF EMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH DECEMBER 2016 Dear Grapevine reader, The church s name is Emmanuel. It means, "God is with us." It causes us to remember that God came to us as a baby. Have you noticed every time God seeks to change the world God allows a baby to be born? First, it was an infant (Moses) in the bulrushes of Egypt and then a child in a manger in Bethlehem. God most often comes to us in a quiet and low-key, almost unseen, way. It catches us by surprise because we don't expect it to be that way. The advent of Jesus' birth is no exception. The good news today is that "God is coming." Take heed. Whether it be heard as good news or bad news depends, to a great extent, on your location or where you happen to be and under what circumstances you find yourself when you hear it. Today's message, good or bad, is that God is coming. Take heed! So during Advent that s what we do. We take heed! We get our lives in order to prepare for the advent of the God s gift to us, His Emmanuel. Listen again to the familiar story of Bethlehem: The angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:10-12 It s a story most of us have heard over and over again. Please, do not allow its familiarity to put a glaze over your eyes or deaden your sense of wonder. Take a close look at this story and you will notice the characters are not people with halos, but ordinary men and women of flesh and blood, fears and frustrations, anxiety and hope, just like us. Most of all, look to Jesus and see him for who he is: God come to earth, the Savior of the world. In the birth of Jesus we find ourselves face to face with God. During this Advent/ Christmas season hold onto the feeling of great expectation that something significant is about to happen as you replay in your mind and share with your mouth the story of Christ s birth in Bethlehem. Take heed! Because ready or not -- Christ is coming! Have a blessed Christmas, Pastor Ed Emmanuel Lutheran Love God, Love Others, Show It 785 N Fowler Ave Clovis, CA Mission Statement Inspired by God s holy spirit, we share His love and invite people of Christ by proclaiming and living the Gospel. Worship Schedule Worship times: 8:30 & 11:00 AM Educational Hour: 9:45-10:45 AM Kids Church Kids Church happens every Sunday during the 11:00 AM worship hour. Children ages 4-12 may attend their own church time after opening of worship Adult Bible Classes Sundays 9:45 am

The Origin of the Candy Cane According to folklore, in 1670, in Cologne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise caused by children in his church during the Living

In order to justify the practice of giving candy to children during worship services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the

2 The Origin of the Candy Cane According to folklore, in 1670, in Cologne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise caused by children in his church during the Living Crèche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a local candy maker for some sweet sticks for them. In order to justify the practice of giving candy to children during worship services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the shepherds who visited the infant Jesus. In addition, he used the white color of the converted sticks to teach children about the Christian belief in the sinless life of Jesus. From Germany, candy canes spread to other parts of Europe, where they were handed out during plays reenacting the Nativity. As such, according to this legend, the candy cane became associated with Christmastime. 1st CANDLE (purple) THE PROPHECY CANDLE We can have hope because God is faithful and will keep the promises made to us. 2nd CANDLE (purple) THE BETHLEHEM CANDLE God kept his promise of a Savior who would be born in Bethlehem. Preparation means to get ready. Help us be ready to welcome YOU O GOD! (Luke 3:4-6) 3rd CANDLE (pink) THE SHEPHERD CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF JOY The angels sang a message of JOY! 4th CANDLE (purple) THE ANGEL CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF LOVE The angles announced the good news of a Savior. God sent his only Son to earth to save us, because he loves us! (John 3:16-17) 5th CANDLE- (white) CHRIST CANDLE The white candle reminds us that Jesus is the spotless Lamb of God, sent to wash away our sins! His birth was a prelude to his death; his death was for our birth! (John 1:29) An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Mesiah, the Lord John 3:16

A: The word "advent" is from the Latin word for "coming," and as such, describes the "coming" of our Lord Jesus Christ into the flesh.

After Advent comes Christmas, which is about his birth; Then Epiphany, about his miracles and ministry; Then Lent, about his Calvary-bound

sending of the Holy Spirit. The first half of the church year (approximately December through June) highlights the life of Christ.

Advent specifically focuses on Christ's "coming." In addition to his arrival on earth as the Christ child, he comes to us in two other ways.

And He is with us today as we receive him in his Word (The Bible) and in Holy Communion.

3 I ve Always Wondered... Q: Why does the church year begin at Advent, what is the history of Advent, and what is the history behind the Advent candles and wreath? A: The word "advent" is from the Latin word for "coming," and as such, describes the "coming" of our Lord Jesus Christ into the flesh. Advent begins the church year because the church year begins where Jesus' earthly life began--in the Old Testament prophecies of his incarnation. After Advent comes Christmas, which is about his birth; Then Epiphany, about his miracles and ministry; Then Lent, about his Calvary-bound mission; Then Easter, about his resurrection and the sending of the apostles; And then Ascension (40 days after Easter) And Pentecost, with the sending of the Holy Spirit. The first half of the church year (approximately December through June) highlights the life of Christ. The second half (approximately June through November) highlights the teachings of Christ. The parables and miracles play a big part here. Advent specifically focuses on Christ's "coming." In addition to his arrival on earth as the Christ child, he comes to us in two other ways. Christ will come again in what is called his "second coming" on the Last Day at the end of time. And He is with us today as we receive him in his Word (The Bible) and in Holy Communion. Lorem CNH Task Force CNH Disabilities Task Force: Coming March 25, From Darkness into Light Human Care Conference at St. Paul Tracy. This is a Conference to help Individuals, family members, caretakers and friends understand the challenges and how to help those with Mental Illness. Cost $25.00 includes Lunch. As the time gets closer there will be a sign-up sheet. If interested in learning more contact Helene Kipp

Emmanuel Children s Sunday School We can trust God to keep his promises. He will provide for us, help us and do great things for us. We can forgive others, because God forgives us.

4 Emmanuel Children s Sunday School We can trust God to keep his promises. He will provide for us, help us and do great things for us. We can forgive others, because God forgives us. We can boldly tell others about Jesus, because we live for Jesus and God uses us to do amazing things. These are all the wonderful things we, the children of Emmanuel Lutheran have been learning in our Sunday School lessons throughout the fall semester using the solid curriculum of Living Inside Out, Where Kids Dare to Live Their Faith 24/7. Every week, we start our Sunday School Hour in the sanctuary with singing, skits, or video. Then off to our classroom for lessons and a craft or game, returning to the sanctuary for closing with music and a follow-up of the day s lesson. Each week we bring home a Parent Handout pertaining to the lesson taught that Sunday and our parents are encouraged to follow the activities on the handout, during the week, to help solidify what we have learned. Mark your calendars for Twas the Light Before Christmas, Sunday, December 11th at the 11:00 service. This will be our annual children s Christmas program, so plan to bring your family and friends for this wonderful event! Note the following dates on your calendar: November 27 - Large Group Sunday School to meet in the Kinder Room December 4 - Regular Sunday School December 10 - Whole Family Participation for Christmas Program Practice - Parents are encouraged to participate in the practice and the craft and the meal- 3:30 to 6:00. Pizza from 6:00-7:00. December 11- Twas the Light Before Christmas (Family participation) 11:00. During Sunday School students will practice and put on costumes. December 18 - Large Group Sunday School in Kinder Classroom December 25 - Large Group Sunday School in Kinder Classroom January 1 - Large Group Sunday School in Kinder Classroom January 8 - Regular Sunday School will resume As the new year begins, we will learn how to show God s love to the world, why Jesus deserves our love and appreciation, how we love God for sending his son and how the Holy Spirit helps us love others. Sunday School is fun and we are having fun living our faith from the inside out! Merry Christmas, Children of Emmanuel Lutheran Church Altar Guild We are seeking people to be a part of the Altar Guild for We need either a couple or two single persons to serve for one month out of the year. Duties include setting up for and cleaning up after Holy Communion on the first and third Sundays of the month; and ensuring candles are filled with oil on a weekly basis. No experience is necessary. Training provided. If you are willing to serve the Lord in this way, please complete the Altar Guild Sheet, and put in offering plate, or return to church office. Please provide which months you could serve (1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd choice). Click here to download sheet Save the Date Tri Church Christmas Breakfast Dec 9:30am Denny s Shaw & First Men s Breakfast Dec 8:00am Jan 8:00am Feb Women of Grace Dec 9:30am Jan 9:30am Feb 9:30am God s Go Getters Group Dec 11:30am Jan 11:30am Feb 11:30am Lunch Bunch Jan 12:00pm Feb 12:00pm

5 Anniversaries & Birthdays December Birthdays January Birthdays February Birthdays Sarah Guenther Dec 2 John Halakhe Jan 1 Lee Cates Feb 3 Sue Kirby Dec 2 Fuju Lee Jan 1 Song Her Feb 4 Amanda Golden Dec 5 Ross Young Jan 1 Rachel McNicholas Feb 6 Gene Garcia Dec 6 Harold Kindsvater Jan 4 Claudine Steinhauer Feb 6 Brenda Gald Dec 10 Jack Singer Jan 4 Karina Howansky Feb 8 Anna Hunter Dec 11 Kate Richardson Jan 7 Steve Menard Feb 8 XaivTuam Her Dec 17 Marin Beck Jan 12 Carl Watkins Feb 12 Katlin Watkins Dec 19 Mike Lundberg Jan 14 Dale Gillespie Feb 13 Pastor Ed Krueger Dec 20 Tom White Jan 14 Jim Deis Feb 14 Scott Linenbroker Dec 20 Goasoua Lee Jan 15 MadelineRichardson Feb 18 Nash Vidmar Dec 23 Allison Yang Jan 15 Aaron Yang Feb 20 Destinee Cha Dec 25 Sophia Barton Jan 17 Zachary Tritch Feb 21 Kim Visher Dec 25 Ron Baten Jan 19 Samuel Visher Feb 21 Paul Watts Dec 25 Mia Luna Jan 19 Jane Galgalo Feb 23 Darrin Lowenthal Dec 26 John Albright Jan 20 Natasha Baker Feb 24 John Beck Dec 27 Zachary Danielson Jan 20 Debbie Spence Feb 24 Sarah Beasley Dec 30 Elaine Fairburn Jan 22 Marisol Martinez Feb 28 Stephanie Anaforian Jan 26 Joy Cunningham Jan 26 Michaela Beasley Jan 27 Michelle Vangsycha Jan 30 December Anniversaries Pr. Jerry & Jan Barnhart Dennis & Karey DeBardeleben Gee Vue & Zeu Yang Eric & Natalie Vidmar Brad & Jennifer Ellis John Halakhe & Jane Galgalo Eric & Youlina Yang Dec yrs Dec yrs Dec yrs Dec yrs Dec yrs Dec yrs Dec - 19 yrs January Anniversaries Mike & Linda Golden John & Margie Relph Doug & Carolee Richardson David & Denise Hart Rick & Kelli Eoff Jeff & Rebecca Hill John & Jennifer Beck Shannon & Brenda Gald February Anniversaries Darrell & Judy Strickler Brad & Sarah Beasley Jan 5-26 yrs Jan yrs Jan yrs Jan yrs Jan yrs Jan yrs Jan 30-4 yrs Jan yrs Feb 5-40 yrs Feb yrs

6 Why I am a Christian By Pastor Matt Gulseth Have you ever thought about why you are a Christian and not some other faith? Is it just a coincidence that you are not a Latter Day Saint (Mormon), Buddhist, Muslim, or Sikh? Anthropologists may say that we are Christians because most of us grew up in white, protestant, geographies. Some people may say they are Christians because they believe that Christianity, the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, are the best way to live a moral and good life. Still others may say that they are Christians because they like their church and it provides friends or a way to be, centered maybe, connected to the divine. None of these reasons really explain why I am a Christian. In fact, I have increasingly come to believe that I did not choose this life. Instead, Christianity found me and brought me into the church giving me morals, connection to the divine, and a host of other things. Still, Christianity is profoundly more than any of those things. Christianity is a holistic life that structures how I perceive, think, and act. More than that, God saves you and me by His work and Son. My perception is that we live in a world full of sin and we are in a constant struggle against this mysterious force of sin. If I think about sin enough it starts to explain why good things happen to bad people and why I can be unhappy. Sin explains why I cut my finger on our bedroom window last night. Sin points out why everything is not perfect. Additionally, sin points out the need for law, something to measure my world against. If I know that our world is in sin, then what would the perfect world look like? This causes a lot of thought. My thinking then is simultaneously sinful and full of God s grace. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God s will is his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2, NIV). I find myself having to rethink who I am and what is true in this world. What is important? At the end of the day, everything will pass away and only the love of Christ will remain. This means that I need to reinvest my time in something greater than morals. My actions in turn are supposed to be actions of love. This is why I am a Christian, because out of His great love for me, a poor sinner, God redeems me and gives me hope and a new purpose. Revelation 14:7 gave me eternal purpose: fear God, give Him glory, and worship Him. My actions come out of His greatest action of eternal choice. He chose me from before the foundations of this world to be a Christian. I was not converted as much as I was chosen. Every other faith relies upon my choice; Christianity rests upon the choice of God. He chose me and that is why I am a Christian. Tri-Church Youth Events Youth Tri-Church events. Mark your calendars. Sunday Jan 3 PM Redeemer Lutheran Sunday Feb PM Peace Lutheran Sunday Mar 3PM Emmanuel Lutheran Parenting in Today s World Starting in January at Emmanuel Pastor Matt will be leading at class for Parenting in Today s World. Additionally this class will be followed up with a class on teaching your kids financial basics. Watch the weekly bulletins for more information

7 Santa Claus How did this person come to look like our Santa Claus? This person was known as St. Nicholas. He was a Greek born 280 years after Christ who became bishop of Myra, a small Roman town in modern Turkey. Nicholas was neither fat nor jolly but developed a reputation as a fiery, wiry, and defiant defender of church doctrine during the "Great Persecution," when Bibles were put to the torch and priests made to renounce Christianity or face execution. Nicholas defied the faith and spent years in prison before the Emperor Constantine brought Christianity to the Roman Empire. By about 1200, he became known as a patron of children and magical gift bringer. For several hundred years, St. Nicholas was the unchallenged bringer of gifts and the toast of celebrations centered around his day, December 6. The strict saint thin, austere, began to take on some aspects of other folk heroes, who appeared as white-bearded men and had magical powers like flight. But after the Protestant Reformation, saints like Nicholas fell out of favor across much of northern Europe. In his place were some scary looking people who expected good behavior from children or else they would suffer the consequences. In the Netherlands, kids and families simply refused to give up St. Nicholas as a gift bringer. They brought "Sinterklaas" with them to New World colonies, where the legends of the shaggy and scary Germanic gift bringers also endured. Then, during the early decades of the 19th century, all that changed thanks to a series of poets and writers who strove to make Christmas a family celebration by reviving and remaking St. Nicholas. Washington Irving's 1809 book Knickerbocker's History of New York first portrayed a pipe-smoking Nicholas soaring over the rooftops in a flying wagon, delivering presents to good girls and boys and switches to bad ones. In 1821 an anonymous illustrated poem entitled "The Children's Friend" went much further in shaping the modern Santa and associating him with Christmas. Santa's thin wagon was pulled by a single reindeer but both driver and team would get a major makeover the next year. In 1822 Clement Clarke Moore wrote "A Visit From St. Nicholas," also known as "The Night Before Christmas," for his six children, with no intention of adding to the fledgling Santa Claus phenomenon. It was published anonymously the next year, and to this day the plump, jolly Santa described rides a sleigh driven by eight familiar reindeer. It wasn't until the late 19th century, he added, that the image of Santa became standardized as a full-size adult, dressed in red with white fur trim, venturing out from the North Pole in a reindeer-driven sleigh and keeping an eye on children's behavior. The jolly, chubby, grandfatherly face of this Santa was largely created by Thomas Nast, the great political cartoonist in an era that featured many. And that is how St. Nicholas became Santa Claus.

Session One: 1. Greet kids with Christmas greetings and Christmas music playing

Session One: 1. Greet kids with Christmas greetings and Christmas music playing Christmas Objective: To develop an understanding of Christmas tradition To develop an understanding of the true meaning of Christmas To practice dialogue and perform it Sing Christmas songs Express good