In honor of my mentor in ministry, the Rev. James Dick I share some of his favorite Christmas lyrics from O Little Town of Bethlehem

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1 The Anchor The Federated Church of Green Lake Fellowship Fun The Movie ELF When - Sunday, December 10 th 12:00 noon in the sanctuary Join us for a spaghetti lunch, with maple syrup of course!!- and then a time of fellowship and fun as we watch the beloved seasonal movie, Elf. Feel free to come in your favorite Elf costume, or pajamas and slippers. Christmas Caroling When Sunday, December 17 th 12:00 noon Sign up at the church to join us as we become the hugs and voices of the season for those of our church members who are homebound. Bring the love of Jesus through the beloved carols of Christmas. This is a gift of presence that our shut-in members deeply appreciate. Even if you don t like to sing, you are welcome to come and join in the sense of community. Music Opportunities for Christmas Eve 9:00 Morning Service Scripture, Poem, Special Music Do you have a special Christmas reading or musical piece that you d be willing to share at our 9:00 am service? Featuring a hymn sing, Christmas prayers and stories, our morning service will be casual with spiritual welcoming of the most holy of days in our sacred story as the people of Christ. Christmas Eve Band Back by popular demand, Jan Saecker our fearless organist, pianist and arranger will be arranging our Christmas Eve hymns for almost any kind of musical instrument. Band members will be playing at our traditional candlelight service at 7:30 on Christmas Eve. If you can join us, please let Jan know as soon as possible. In honor of my mentor in ministry, the Rev. James Dick I share some of his favorite Christmas lyrics from O Little Town of Bethlehem How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of his heaven No ear may hear his coming But in this world of sin Where meek souls will receive him still The dear Christ enters in From our family to yours, a blessed Advent season and Christmas celebration. Pastor Karen, Hugo, Derek and Andrew December 1, 2017 Inside this issue: Liturgists & Ushers Missions Group News Committee News Outreach Member News Other News Upcoming Events: Dec. 10-Elf Movie - 12:00 pm Dec. 17-Christmas Caroling 12:00 pm December 24-Christmas Eve Services: 9:00 am, 5:00 pm, 7:30 pm Dec. 31-One Service Only - 10:30 Guest preacher: Kurt Kaufman

2 Liturgists & Ushers Liturgists December 3 9:00 Service Randy Zieth December 10 9:00 Service Jennifer Schroeder December 17 9:00 Service Riley Karau December 31 10:30 Service Cal Murphy (One Service Only) Thank you for serving. If you have any questions or are unable to be liturgist, please contact the church office at Ushers December 3 9:00 Service Chuck Wallschlaeger, Susan Wallschlaeger 10:30 Service Lisa Bittinger, Evelyn Galster December 10 9:00 Service Cal Murphy, Payton Murphy 10:30 Service Evelyn Galster December 17 9:00 Service Sue Fuller, Mike Fuller 10:30 Service Lisa Bittinger December 24 9:00 Service TBA 5:00 Service Kinas Family 7:30 Service Cal Murphy, Payton Murphy, Chuck Wallschlaeger, Susan Wallschlaeger December 31 10:30 Service (One Service Only) Lisa Bittinger Missions Angel Tree The Angel Tree is up. Please take an angel and help make some family s Christmas a little brighter this year. Please note that this year the County is requesting that you do not wrap the gift. Salvation Army Bell Ringing We will be ringing bells on Saturday, December 9 from 8 am-7pm at Crossroads Market in Green Lake. There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex. Group News Prayer Quilt Contact - If anyone has a prayer quilt request for the month of December, please contact Pam Fagerburg at (920) Christmas Offering This year, the Christmas offering will be donated to our youth program. Supporting our youth is one of the most important responsibilities we have in our church. The money will be used for any type of youth enrichment such as mission trips, retreats, Sunday Youth Thing events, or updating the youth room. Thank you for your generosity.

3 Committee News Treasurer s Report December 2017 What is stewardship? Simply stated, stewardship is using the gifts God has given us, to do the things God asks (calls) us to do. Two thirds of Jesus parables have to do with our possessions. There are 500 verses on prayer, 500 on faith and 2,000 on things we accumulate in the gospels. One out of seven verses in the gospels deal with giving or sharing with the world. --First Baptist Church of Los Angeles NEWS, November 6, In this season when we anticipate the ultimate gift from God in the person of Jesus Christ, may we give graciously and generously to the ministry and mission of The Federated Church in support of our core values of COMMUNITY, HOSPITALITY and OUTREACH. Financial Update as of 10/31/17 10/31/16 Actual Income: $157, $164, Actual Expense: $189, $194, Actual Shortfall:* $ 32, $ 30, *The adopted budget estimated a shortfall of $30, as of 10/31/17. Watch the Sunday bulletin each week for an update on our progress toward raising the $60,000 needed by 12/31/17. Arlo R. Reichter, Treasurer From the Memorial Committee: Has anyone noticed the wall clock in the church lounge area? It was purchased with memorial funds in remembrance of Ervin Alvin. The clock has been out of commission for some time and was recently taken to Gysbers Jewelry Store in downtown Green Lake for a diagnosis. Good news: it's been repaired. Great news: Gysbers repaired the clock free of charge! It's what they do for churches. The wall clock has now been returned to the lounge and is happily ticking away. Thank you, thank you, Gysbers! Notice Regarding 2017 Year-End Giving This is a reminder that the final date for contributions to the church for credit to your 2017 giving is Sunday, December 31st, Contributions must be received at the church office by December 31st OR post-marked no later than that date. Contributions received or post-marked after the last day of the year will be credited to your 2018 giving. Thank you for your faithful financial support of The Federated Church. -Financial Secretaries

4 Outreach ShoeBox Recycling Freeland has partnered with Community Recycling and their ShoeBox Recycling program. Together we are on a mission to help promote the importance of shoe recycling while raising funds to help further our efforts. ShoeBox Recycling is easy, engaging and rewarding for everyone involved. Participating is simple. We are collecting gently used shoes for reuse, meaning all the shoes we recycle as a group are destined for another home. From South America and Africa to areas right here in the United States, our ShoeBox Recycling efforts will go to help people and communities in over 50 countries. And what s even better are the many ways that our community benefits as well. Not only will your recycled shoes help Freeland raise funds, it will also help keep usable shoes out of our local landfills. ShoeBox Recycling also gives us a chance to connect with the people and places that receive our recycled shoes. By writing a SoleMate Note to include with your shoes, you can let their new owner know about where they came from, what they were used for, or even any special memories attached to them. In return, they can write back to us and we can make a SoleMate connection. So start cleaning out your closets and start looking under your bed for gently used shoes. Every pair you recycle means extra funds for us, less landfill waste and the potential to connect us to a SoleMate! Please drop off the shoes in the box in the narthex. Member News Prayer Concerns for: Hawk LaMire, Tom Mills, Joann LaMire, Gus Mueller, Don Benedict, Cynthia Galster, Rev. Betsy Perkins, JoAnne Blair, John Bille, those dealing with medical issues & those dealing with mental health issues. At home members: Phyllis Bloch, Lulu Kenton, Marge Pamenter & Carl Stracka. Markesan Resident Home: Elizabeth Gray. Fountainview: Nancy Knepfel. Prairie Place: Barbara Rogers. Contemplative Worship Opportunities 7:45-8:15 Sunday Mornings You are welcome to begin each Sunday morning with a service of scripture, silence, brief reflection, and prayer. We begin each Sunday with the reading of the Divine Hour liturgy for the morning, followed by 10 minutes of quiet contemplation, then reflective thoughts and prayer. Those who have been regulars at this service love it, and have opted to keep it going throughout our winter months. We'd love to have you join us. Please see Pastor Karen if you have any questions, or just come and try it out! 12:15-12:35 Tuesday Afternoons Centering Prayer Join Pastor Karen and other staff as we come to the sanctuary in silent prayer for 20 minutes each Tuesday. Let the love of God connect with your soul, and allow yourself time to be in God's sustaining grace and mercy. Resources and helps are available for you when you come. If you have any questions, please ask Pastor Karen.

5 Our church s Annual Meeting will be held on January 21, 2018 beginning at 11:30 a.m. To all Committees and Boards: Please have all of your Annual Report information to Carrie in the office by Friday, December 15. Reports need to be submitted via in Microsoft Word format so editing can be done if necessary. Thank you for your cooperation! Christmas Services at Federated Church December 24, :00 a.m. Worship Christmas Music and Hymn Sing 5:00 p.m. Worship Family worship and Candlelight Celebration 7:30 p.m. Worship Traditional Christmas scriptures and hymns Celebration of the Lord s Supper and Candlelight December 31, :30 a.m. Intergenerational Worship One service only No Sunday School (Kurt Kaufman will be preaching)

6 POINSETTIA ORDER SHEET In celebration of Christmas, the altar and chancel will be decorated with poinsettias beginning Sunday, December 17th. If you would like to give a flower in honor of someone or in memory of a loved one, please indicate below. (No altar flowers will be needed or accepted from Dec. 17th - Jan. 1st). This year we have 2 colors to choose from (White & Red). If no color is indicated, red will be ordered for you. Plants cost $9.50 each. Please return this order form and your payment to the church office by December 11th. Please make checks payable to the Federated Church of Green Lake. Plant color: Donated by: In Memory of: In Honor of:

7 Other News Church Council October 17, 2017 DRAFT Members present: Pastor Karen, Miriam Ownby, Jim Gelhar, Amy Schroeder, Arlo Reichter, Barry Rogers, and Larry Herrell. Pastor opened the meeting with a prayer. Meeting started at 7:00 pm. Dr. Barry Rogers and Larry Herrell presented the status of the church roof and water issues. Discussion and questions followed. Security Luebke Roofing has submitted a bid. Barry will contact Ryan Carlson from that company to come back to field some more questions and make a recommendation on what should be done now. The council can then get a proposal to the congregation as soon as possible. It was mentioned that no local contractors were interested or available to do the work on the roof. Tom Reinsch moved that the council rescind the previous council action regarding the Koktavy gift, and place it in a temporary restricted fund, for the purpose it was given. 2 nd by Arlo, motion carried. The council reviewed court file number They also reviewed the September 5, 2007 letter, from Attorney Richard Speeter, in reference to the estate of Sarah Mabel Koktavy. Attorney Speeter believes that Ms. Koktavy's wishes would be met if the funds are used toward improvements of the present church. Treasurer's report: There is a $33, deficit in the church budget as of the end of September. Arlo will ask Huberty if all the pages of the monthly report can be numbered. This will ease discussion of the report. Arlo has removed some line items in the budget, this will make it easier to handle. Arlo has compiled a list of funding available for the building needs. These are available without borrowing and a major campaign. Pastor's report: Christmas Eve falls on Sunday this year. The plan is to have one worship service at 9:00 am that will be singing and special music. Then traditional services at 5:00 and 7:30 pm. There will not be a 11:00 pm service. Thanksgiving Ecumenical service is at 7:00pm on November 21, 2017, at the Federated Church of Green Lake. New members are joining on October 29, There will be one service on November 12 at 9:30 am. The budget presentation and nominating committee report will follow at 10:30. Sunday School will be from 9:45-11:15am. Here are upcoming fellowship events for everyone: November 11- Mexican cooking night- please sign up for planning. December 10- Showing the movie Elf Jim inquired about the status of the lights in the church. Two hallways upstairs and the lounge have been changed to LED lights. We need to get the sanctuary done next. The meeting was closed with a prayer by Jim. Next meeting November 28, 2017 at 6:45.

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11 Sunday Worship Schedule Worship Services: 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sunday School: 10:30 a.m. Rev. Karen Gygax Rodríguez, Pastor Alejandra Cardenas, College Intern Christine Murphy, Sunday School Coordinator Carrie Neubauer, Administrative Assistant Holly Ninneman & Bill Reininger, Assistant Custodians Virginia Pollock, Choir Director Jan Saecker, Organist Office Hours: 8 a.m. 3 p.m. Monday Friday Telephone: (920) office@greenlakefederated.org Website: Deadline for Monthly Newsletter: Third Monday of the month

12 December Calendar Worship Services: Sunday School: December 3, 10, 17 December 3, 10, 17 7:45 a.m., 9:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. December 24-Christmas Eve Worship Services 9:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m December 31-One Service Only 10:30 a.m. Adult Choir December 6, 13, 20, 27 5:45 p.m. Anchor Crew December 22 8:30 a.m. Anchor Deadline December 18 Bulletin Deadline December 6, 13, 20, 27 12:00 p.m. Centering Prayer December 5, 12, 19, 26 12:15-12:35 p.m. Christmas Caroling December 17 12:00 p.m. Church Council Meeting No meeting this month Diaconate Meeting December 5 6:30 p.m. Elf Movie December 10 12:00 p.m. Girl Scout Meeting December 17 3:30-5:30 p.m. Mission Board Meeting No meeting this month Pastor s Day Off December 5, 12, 19, 26 Praise Band Rehearsal December 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 9:30 a.m. December 6, 13, 20, 27 5:00 p.m. Prayers & Squares Not meeting this month

13 Staff Meeting December 5, 12, 19 12:45 p.m. Strategic Task Force Meeting December 3 11:30 a.m. Transformation Nation December 6, 13 6:00 p.m. DECEMBER 2017 S M T W T F S