Thankful for young. and older. and all God provides

Transcription

1 St. Mark Lutheran Church CrossBeams A publication of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Mount Prospect, Illinois December 2014 Volume 53 Issue 12 Thankful for young and older and all God provides

2 CrossBeams December 2014 Lanny and I met in June, had our first date in July, got engaged in August, and married in December all the same year, six months from Hi, I m Linnea! to I do!. Though neither speed-dating nor match.com were involved, it s worked out pretty well. But I don t recommend the timing Christmas! When it dawned on me many years later that all those guests we d invited probably had better things to do three days before their ho-, ho-, ho -ing decorate the dollhouse, thaw the turkey, trim the tree, conquer K-Mart I was more than a little chagrined at my self-involvement. But I was young and in love what did I know? So they came: to be with us, to witness our vows, and to share our joy. The banquet hall was a holly and ivy vision, the meal and music wonderful, the chocolate cake an unstable whipped cream confection! After exchanging hugs and kisses with our last guests, off we went to my parents home to open presents, both wedding and Christmas; every box and bow disguised a thoughtful gift, well-chosen to get us started on the path to married life. Finally, it was time to say good-bye and begin our wedding trip at a hotel near O Hare! As newlyweds should, we wanted to be alone! We were, but we were also lonely! There was room in the inn, but it was cold and cheerless and empty of all we hold dear friends, family, and laughter. I asked Lanny what we did the next day, and for Christmas Eve and for church Christmas Day; regrettably, neither of us remembers. But what I do remember is that loneliness and in my remembering, I think of Mary and Joseph. I imagine them, new to each other (as we were, really), far from home without a support system of friends or family. In my mind s eye I see them in a strange, unwelcoming place ruled by a hostile foreign power. I think of poor Joseph, older, wiser, with so much riding on his being able to protect his betrothed from lurking highway peril. And, there was Mary s pregnancy now at term complicating everything! Then Joseph s dream of dangers yet to come. Surely they were frightened and lonely. They had God s promises to accompany them, but what did they mean to this faithful pair? We fled that hotel, I expect, our salvation as near as our little Andersonville apartment. But for Joseph and Mary? Their salvation lay first in Egypt, then on, to Calvary, with their Son. Jesus salvation our divine Christmas gift. Pr. Linnea Wilson

3 CrossBeams December 2014 Thoughts from the Loft O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel (ELW #257 vs. 1) As I write this, the weather outside is much like a cold winter day. Sometimes God surprises us, whether we like it or not. So it is with music. The most surprising moments are the most unexpected. As we sing O come, O come, Emmanuel this Advent (and we will sing some verses of it every Sunday in Advent), let us not sing it routinely. Let us be thankful for the coming birth of a child who saved us all. Peace, Tim What s Happening in Youth & Family Ministry? Advent is the season of waiting and anticipation. In Youth & Family Ministry, we have already been waiting to find a new Youth & Family Ministry Director. Finally, the waiting is over for now. On November 23, 2014, David Webb started in this position. David is not new to St. Mark, as he is the husband of our former Vicar, Christie Webb. David brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to St. Mark. He is a Diaconal Ministry candidate and has his Bachelor of Arts in English, a Masters of Ministry with an emphasis in Spirituality, a Masters of Theological Studies and a Masters in Elementary Education. David begins his time at St. Mark by focusing on 5 main areas of Youth & Family Ministry: Children s Church, WOW, FaithWalk, SHINE! and College-Age Ministry. Pastor Linnea and I will continue to work with David in these areas to make disciples of our children and assist our families. Please help me welcome David in his new role at St. Mark. Christmas is coming so that means the Children s Christmas Program will be here soon. The WOW children have begun working on some songs. The Preschool, FaithWalk and SHINE! youth will begin working soon also. This year s production will be Jesus-God s Greatest Gift and will be presented on Sunday, December 21 at the 10 am Worship Service. Mark your calendars you won t want to miss it! In the evening on Sunday, December 21 st, the FaithWalk, SHINE! and College-Age youth will gather at the Center to bake & decorate cookies and treats and then take them out into the community to deliver to civil servants, congregation members and other community workers. This is a favorite event for the youth and the adults who come to help. Finally, Youth Sunday is on December 28. I am excited to see all our youth participate in this day of worship! So I am calling all youth -4 th grade through college-age- to come and be a part of this day. Youth - Let me know how you can serve! Christmas Blessings and Peace be with you! Jill Galyon, Interim Youth Coordinator

4 CrossBeams December 2014 Friday, December pm in Fellowship Hall This month we will be learning a craft. Jeanne Kueter will be teaching us how to stamp a Christmas Card. Cost: $2 per card with a maximum of 5 cards per person. RSVP to the church office by Friday, December 12 with the number of cards you would like to make. SENIOR LUNCH BUNCH CHRISTMAS LUNCH Thursday, December 18, 2014 Des Plaines Elks Club 495 Lee St., Des Plaines, IL Meet at the Elks Club at 1:00 pm Lunch to include salad, main course, dessert, coffee or soda. $15 per person (includes lunch, tax & tip) Cash bar available. Lunch choices: Chicken Parmesan, Baked Chicken, Pork Chops, or Tilapia. Lunch choice and money to Marilyn by December 9 th. Questions or need more information, call Marilyn SAVE THE DATE: SUNDAY, JANUARY 11 The St. Mark/St. Raymond Ecumenical Ministry will host THE STORY IN GLASS A Window Walk Visit St. Mark Lutheran Church between 1-2:30 pm and then visit St. Raymond Catholic Church between 2-3:30 pm to view their stained glass windows

5 CrossBeams December 2014 CALENDAR Saturday, November 29, 9 am Advent Craft and Trim the Church Great Room; sanctuary Wednesday, December 3, 7pm St. Raymond Women s Club Christmas Dinner Manzo s By advance paid reservation only Holiday Outing to Woodstock Saturday, December 6, 9:11 am train Shopping, carriage rides, enjoying the decorations Lunch at noon at The Public House on the square optional 2pm Opera House performance of A Christmas Carol (tickets $18, reservations needed by 11/23) Contact Kim Perlich or Kathie Hetland Saturday, December 6, 9:11 am Holiday Outing to Woodstock Advent Craft and Trim the Church Join us on Saturday morning, November 29, at 9am in the Great Room to make a holiday craft item for your home. Coffee and will be served. Cost: $5 Please RSVP to Judy Fell or Gail Radtke. Then stay to help as we decorate the sanctuary, narthexes and Great Room for the Advent and Christmas seasons. Many hands make light work! Ladies BUNCO NIGHT & DESSERT Friday January 23, 2015 In Fellowship Hall Gather together at 7:00 pm For a sweet treat. Followed by an evening of BUNCO. Even if you do not know what the game is all about, Come and join in the fellowship and fun. Bring a wrapped "White Elephant" gift to give away during the BUNCO Game. JOIN US FOR SOME FELLOWSHIP & FUN

6 ADVENT Sunday, December 7 Sunday, December 14 Sunday, December 21 Worship at 8 am & 10 am Worship with Choir Cantata at 10 am One service only Worship at 8 am & 10 am Children s Program at 10 am Jesus-God s Greatest Gift CHRISTMAS Wednesday, December 24 Worship at 4 pm & 10 pm Thursday, December 25 Worship at 10 am Angels? Shepherds? Flocks by night? Mary? Joseph? Manger? No room!? Fear not!? Emmanuel!? Where can you find all these cherished parts of the Christmas story? Would it surprise you to know that they aren t in the Gospel of Mark, the gospel appointed for this year? Mark s gospel begins BANG 1, 2, 3 with the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, then the words of the prophet Isaiah foretelling the appearance of that odd character, John, and, finally, the claiming of Jesus by the Holy spirit as he was baptized by John in the Jordan River. And would you be surprised to find that they weren t in last year s appointed Gospel of Matthew, either? That gospel skips right over the birth from Joseph s dream to the coming of the wise men! No, to read the familiar and dear story of Jesus birth, we must turn to the Gospel of Luke, the only scripture to recount the miraculous advent of our Lord. [Luke 2: 1-40] So that s what we ll do on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as we worship together, we ll tell the story of God coming among us as a fragile infant. And what a wondrous story it is!

7 To the Congregation of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Thank you for your generous support of our LCC Food Pantry: your many food donations delivered to us by Jerry Clauser and Tom Uddenberg, monetary contributions from your programs, monthly contributions from members of your congregation and participation in the GCFD Hunger Walk this fall. We are blessed to have you as a supporting partner of our LCC Food Pantry. Our family count continues to increase, last week serving 157 families. Considering last year we averaged 82 families a week, for a non-profit, this increase is not good. The needy of our community are blessed to have you as a supporting congregation for our LCC Food Pantry. Any given Tuesday... The LCC Food Pantry volunteers represent five to six local churches. Our contributions are made up from cash, food, gift cards and volunteering. Local schools are important for our LCC Food Pantry program to SERVE and SHARE with those in need....the Holmes School of Mount Prospect had a food drive last spring....the Juliet Lowe School of Arlington Heights had a food drive this fall....the Minor School of Arlington Heights has brought in bags of bagels and they pack bags for us....two other schools in Des Plaines and Arlington Heights have Thanksgiving Food Drives going on....the Vanguard School of Arlington Heights packs 96 bags of food and unloads the Greater Chicago Food Depository Food Rescue truck every week. Perishable food from local stores is brought to us weekly...no charge to us. This week we received 3100 pounds of food...bakery, deli, meat, produce. We are very generous with what we give out. Because food is perishable, it can't be saved. What we have left over, we deliver to Compass [CEDA], Wheeling Township and Catholic Charities. All are GCDF Agencies and all are in the five town area we SERVE. Therefore we are SHARING..SERVING the needy in our Community. Thank you, We are blessed to have you as a supporting partner for our community, Walker R. Reach, Director Lutheran Church of the Cross Food Pantry

8 Tickets: $15 Purchase online at harpercollege.edu/boxoffice or call

9 Guest Column You are invited to submit an article for the next issue! [we may have to edit for space and/or content] The Gift of Kindness He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 One of my favorite Bible verses is the one at the top of this essay. God requires that justice, kindness and humility guide our life-decisions; I am good with that. Justice focuses on balance. The scale should never be tipped too heavily in one direction. Justice seeks the common good. Kindness, like love, is often needed when we least deserve it, but every human thrives when it is present. Compassion is expressed through acts of kindness. Humility, paired with the confidence of knowing that we walk with God, is wondrous to behold. With Christmas and the New Year quickly approaching, our sense of justice informs us as we make our end-of-year generosity decisions; the humble Baby Jesus reminds us that the most precious gift we share does not come from a purse filled with gold, but from a loving heart prepared to deliver The Gift of Kindness. One of my patients shared the photo of a sweet little girl over the caption, My superpower is kindness. What s yours? Kindness is a superpower only when we give it away; like love, the more we give, the more we receive. Though we have many opportunities to give The Gift of Kindness, one of the most powerful happens when the recipient is not even present. How we speak about another person in their absence has the potential of being either a gift or a curse. When someone says negative things about a person not present, they are potentially spreading rumors and revealing their own lack of integrity. On the other hand, sharing complimentary thoughts about an absent person can be a very positive experience. Having the courage to stop a destructive conversation is not easy; expressing compassion for a person in their absence often requires deliberate practice; but both are examples of The Gift of Kindness. In my home, we have been trying to avoid being too materialistic with our Christmas gift-giving. For a few on our list, making a donation to their favorite charity works great. Others on our list receive the gift of time a shared restaurant, theater, or museum experience ends up being just the thing. Of course, there will still be a few boxes with bows. That is also part of our tradition. But far and away the most important gift I look forward to sharing is The Gift of Kindness. As we continue our journey into each new year, let us look for opportunities to share The Gift of Kindness. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. In God s Love, Lanny Wilson --Aesop

10 St. Mark Lutheran Church Cash Flow Statement Summary General Fund/Preschool** October 31, 2014 MTD Actual YTD Actual Annual Budget INCOME Offerings/Bequests $26, $320, $417, Administrative $0.00 $1, $1, Facility Usage $2, $6, $8, Facility Usage-Booster Cl $50.00 $2, $3, Preschool Fac Usage $1, $14, $7, Facility Usage Parsonage $1, $13, $15, Ministries $61.00 $1, $3, *Preschool/Daycare Fund Income $0.00 $75, $69, Total $31, $436, $525, EXPENSES Administrative $2, $40, $55, Compensation $24, $211, $312, Property $6, $65, $75, Ministries $ $6, $13, *Preschool Daycare Expense $0.00 $77, $84, Total $34, $401, $540, Net Income (Loss) includes preschool ($3,251.65) $34, ($15,052.25)

11 2014 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 6:30 pm PADS 7 pm Youth & Family 7 pm Foundation 1 4 pm Basketball 5:30 pm Basketball 2 9 am Volleyball 11 am Bible Study 3:30 pm Basketball 4:30 pm WOW 6 pm Basketball 6 pm Children s Choir 6:30 pm FaithWalk 3 4 pm Basketball 5 pm Basketball 6:30 pm Bell Choir 7:30 pm Adult Vocal Choir 4 4:30 pm Basketball 5:45 pm Basketball 7:30 pm Basketball 9 pm Basketball 5 7 am Basketball 8 am Basketball 12 pm Basketball 6 8 am Chapel Service 10 am Worship 6 pm Preschool PJ Pageant 7 12:30 pm Book Club 6:30 pm PADS 7 pm Mary Circle :30 pm Deborah Circle 3:30 pm Basketball 5:30 pm Basketball 9 am Volleyball 11 am Bible Study 4 pm Basketball 4:30 pm WOW 5 pm Basketball 6 pm Basketball 6 pm Children s Choir 6:30 pm FaithWalk 10 3:30 pm Basketball 6 pm Basketball 6:30 pm Bell Choir 7:30 pm Basketball 7:30 pm Adult Vocal Choir 11 4:30 pm Basketball 5:45 pm Basketball 7:30 pm Basketball 9 pm Basketball 12 7 am Basketball 8 am Basketball 12 pm Basketball 1 pm Basketball No 8 am Worship 10 am Worship with Christmas Cantata 4 pm MP Community Band Concert 6:30 pm PADS 15 3:30 pm Basketball 5:30 pm Basketball 16 9 am Volleyball 11 am Bible Study 5 pm Basketball 6 pm Basketball 6 pm Children s Choir 17 1 pm Senior Lunch Bunch 3:30 pm Basketball 6 pm Basketball 6:30 pm Bell Choir 7:30 pm Adult Vocal Choir :30 pm Basketball 5:45 pm Basketball 7 pm Craft Connection 7:30 pm Basketball 9 pm Basketball 7 am Basketball 8 am Basketball 1 pm Basketball 7 pm Private Event am Chapel Service 10 am Worship with Children s Christmas Program 5 pm Cookie Bake 22 12:30 pm Bridge Club 6:30 pm PADS 3:30 pm Basketball 5:30 pm Basketball 23 OFFICE CLOSED 9 am Volleyball 4 pm Worship 10 pm Worship 24 OFFICE CLOSED 10 am Worship 25 OFFCE CLOSED 7:30 pm Basketball 9 pm Basketball 26 7 am Basketball 27 YOUTH SUNDAY 8 am Chapel Service 10 am Worship 28 6:30 pm PADS 29 5:30 pm Basketball 30 OFFICE CLOSED 9 am Volleyball 12 pm Basketball 31

12 St. Mark Lutheran Church 200 South Wille Street Mount Prospect, Illinois December 2014 St. Mark Lutheran Church 847/ Fax 847/ Staff Pastor Linnea Wilson Music Director Timothy Spelbring Parish Administrator Nancy Hundley Office Administrator Jill Galyon Interim Youth & Family Ministry Director David Webb Preschool Director Barb Zediker Sunday Worship Chapel Service ~ 8 am Worship Service ~ 10 am Fellowship Hour 9 am Wednesday Youth Christian Education WOW (4 yrs through 5 th grade) FaithWalk (Confirmation 6-8 th grade) 4:30-6:00 pm 6:30-8:00 pm Office Hours Monday Thursday 8:30 am 4:30 pm Friday 8:30 am 12 pm noon The mission statement of the people of St. Mark: To nourish God s people in body, mind and Spirit.