How thankful are you this year?

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1 Calvary Courier Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church Upcoming Events How thankful are you this year? Reformation Service Nov. 3 & 4 Thanksgiving Day Service Nov. 10AM Thanksgiving Potluck Nov. 11:15AM Inside this issue: Mortgage Payoff Drive 2 Worship Schedule 3 November Birthdays Through My Bible in a Thanksgiving Service Christmas for Kids November Calendar 4 Insert Insert Insert How thankful are you this year? Maybe, you are feeling really thankful. You made lots of money. You got a new house. You added to your family. Or... Maybe it hasn t been your year. You don t have a lot of money. You lost your job. Often times circumstances determine exactly how thankful we are at Thanksgiving and in everyday life. In Philippians 4, the Apostle Paul claims to know the secret to being content no matter the circumstances. He says, I have learned to be content in any circumstances in which I find myself. I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough. (Philippians 4: 8-11) There are really three types of circumstances in which we can find ourselves. The first is to be without need. Paul calls it, to have more than enough. Really it means that he doesn t have a single need. This is the feeling you might get at the end of a two hour epic Thanksgiving meal. The turkey is in your belly. The tryptophan is at work. The cranberry sauce is dribbling between the spaces in your tummy left by the stuffing. To be without need means that one is truly blessed. Oftentimes, this is the circumstance we find ourselves in. We are clothed. We are full. We have a roof over our head. Yet, when this is our circumstance, how often are we content? With the world constantly in our face telling us what we need, how long is it before we begin to believe that we are in need. This leads to the second circumstance we might find ourselves in, perceived need. I need an ipad. I need a Fiat. I need a Starbucks coffee in the morning. Kids do it too: I need a cookie!, as if they will faint without the nutrition contained within the chocolate chip. Of course, the truth is that we don t need this stuff. Yet our minds do such a good job of convincing ourselves of this need that we aren t always so thankful in perceived need. We aren t thankful because our house isn t as nice as our neighbors, our family isn t as polite, and our job isn t as fun. And if we aren t that thankful when we have perceived need, what does that mean for when we have...real need. You need help in order to pay the rent. You need transportation. You need food. It is very difficult to be content when you are in real need, when your stomach is growling from hunger, when your legs are tired from walking everywhere, when your eyes are bloodshot red from staying up and working hard. What kind of circumstance was Paul in when he wrote the letter to the Philippians? He was in jail. Paul was in real need. How could he be content in that situation? He said at the end of Philippians 4: 11: I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. In other words, Paul found contentment from looking up. And what do you find when you look up? The God who provides all things. He takes care of our earthly needs. He takes care of our earthly wants. He has an

2 Page 2 Calvary evangelical Lutheran church Calvary Courier Continued from front page... Content to be forgiven. Content to be God s child. Content to be in God s good graces. So, how will your Thanksgiving be this year? I suppose it depends on the circumstances. As you look up, you will be reminded of your circumstances: Jesus loves you. You have a Savior. You are blessed. Circumstantially, you couldn t be in a better place. Pastor Martin Spaude Mortgage Pay Off Drive: At the July Voters meeting the voters adopted the proposal from the Church Council to have a drive to pay off the church mortgage by the end of year. Currently the mortgage stands at $46,000. We are currently paying $6000 per month to pay off the mortgage as part of our budget. This would leave us with $28,000 at the end of the year. If you would like to help with this you can put the money in the Building Fund envelope or a plain envelope and write on it, mortgage. Please note that this should be over and above your regular giving as the church operating budget needs are still there. GOAL: $28,000 $16,000 as of October 16, 2018 Calvary s Mission Statement As members of this congregation, our constant aim is to share the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ with all people based on the inspired, infallible Holy Scriptures and to exemplify our faith through Christian living Take a picture of this with your phone to make a donation to Calvary. Like us on Facebook: CalvaryLutheranChurchChandler 1270 N. Dobson Rd. Chandler, AZ Worship: 6PM Saturday Calvary s Church Leaders Pastor Martin Spaude Pastor Roger Sprain Staff Minister: Charlie Kuether President: David Gannon Secretary: Rodger Johnson Financial Secretary: Paul Spaude Treasurer: Scott Abbe Evangelism/Stewardship Director: James Armbruster Education Director: Nathan Traudt

3 Calvary Courier Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church Page 3 November Worship Use this Schedule to Prepare Yourself November 3 & 4 Reformation Communion Theme: By Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, on Scriptures Alone Special Service Hymns: November 10 & 11 Last Judgment Theme: The Son Will Judge the World Lessons: Malachi 4:1-2a Hymns: 207 Psalm 90 Hebrews 9: John 5: November 17 & 18 Saints Triumphant Communion Theme: The Saints Will Shine Like the Stars Lessons: Daniel 12:1-3 Hymns: 170 Psalm 118 Hebrews 10: John 5: November 22 Thanksgiving Special Service Hymns: (Tune of) November 24 & 25 Christ the King Theme: The Eternal King As an Eternal Kingdom Lessons: Daniel 7:13, 14 Hymns: 341 Psalm 45 Revelation 1:4b John 18:

4 LADIES GUILD INFORMATION This group is open to all women of Calvary. In the future we will be meeting quarterly instead of monthly, making our next gettogether on Thursday, January 10 th at 9:30AM in the church fellowship hall. These meetings consist of a Bible study with Pastor Spaude and a business meeting. Ladies Guild is the behind the scenes get-er-done group. We are responsible for many things including aiding the Alpha Pregnancy Resource Center, Sunday refreshments, food pantry, greeting cards, aluminum recycling, coordinating church events, missions and the LWMS reporter, to name a few. Take the opportunity in January to check us out and become involved in your church activities. For additional information, contact Jan Enderle at or at janwoodmansee@gmail.com. Recycling Aluminum cans are a source of income used for keeping our Calvary kitchen well stocked. We ask for aluminum cans only. We are unable to recycle tin cans (i.e. pet food cans, foil or foil cooking pans or other food cans.) The collection container is located at the East end of the Sunday School classrooms. Food Pantry The Calvary Food Pantry has been well used recently. We are currently short on the following items: crackers, macaroni & cheese, spaghetti & sauces, canned fruit (no mandarin oranges), meals in a box/can (i.e. stew, chili, spaghetti, etc.), breakfast items, pancake mixes & syrups, cookies & snacks, paper products and personal items. There is a container on the patio on Sundays marked FOOD BANK for donations or they may be dropped off in the church kitchen or coffee room. Thank you for your support. Alpha Pregnancy In keeping with their mission statement Spread the Gospel while emphasizing the sanctity of life, Alpha Pregnancy is distributing Bible story books along with diapers, formula, clothing, blankets etc. to mothers and mothers-to-be, Alpha has also been getting requests for Bible History books and Catechisms. We are asking for donations of all of these reading materials. There is a collection box in the fellowship hall. Look for the playpen. Donations of clothing and shoes (boy and girl, all sizes) would be appreciated. Thank you. Greeting Cards Ladies Guild has stocked a new supply of Christian all-occasion greeting cards. These cards are provided as a service to the congregation and are sold at cost. They are displayed on a rack during fellowship time on the patio before and after Sunday services and in the fellowship hall at all times. For questions, contact Cora Schroeder at Box Tops for Education General Mills has been sending dollars to schools through their Box Tops 4 Education program for 20 years. These box tops are found on hundreds of products, including Cheerios, Annie s, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Fiber One, Haagen-Daz, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and Old Paso. Pilgrim Church in Mesa is collecting these Box Tops. They receive 10 cents fr every box top collected and submitted to the program. Calvary will be collecting box tops and sending them to Pilgrim. We are asking you to take a moment to check and clip. There is a basket on the left side of the counter in the back of the Narthex. Thank you. Thanksgiving Service: A song service of praise and thanksgiving to God will be held on Thursday, November 22 nd at 10AM. As we review our lives day by day, we see how much God has blessed us spiritually and physically. Indeed we have much for which to thank God. The annual Thanksgiving Turkey potluck dinner will be held after the Thanksgiving Day service on November 22 nd. A sign-up sheet for this is on the back counter.

5 CHRISTMAS FOR KIDS Christmas for Kids returns to Calvary on Saturday, December 8th, from 9AM till Noon. The program is designed for children three years of age through those currently in Sixth Grade. Our program this year, Jesus the Savior Is Born will allow our staff to bring the true meaning of Christmas to all who attend, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Included in this exciting program will be the Christmas Story, and Christmas crafts, treats, songs, and games, along with great opportunity for Christian fellowship for all who attend. Registration will begin on Thursday, November 1 st, and can be done online at or on signup sheets in the back of church. There is no cost for Christmas for Kids, and Calvary children are encouraged to bring their friends to also be part of festive morning. Attention crafters...our 4th annual make and take will be on November 10 th and will start at 12PM. We will meet in the parking lot and car pool for lunch. Place TBD. Any suggestions? We will return to church to make the craft and have a slice of pie. Please sign up so I will know how many supplies to provide. Sheet to sign up is in the back of church. Any questions? Call or offkue@yahoo.com. From the Stewardship Committee (James Armbruster, Director) Our Gifts to God God calls us to first-fruits, sacrificial giving. This means we should give off the top. We should set a percentage of our income as a deliberate gift for the work of the Church and give that first. We write the check to the Lord s work in the Church before we pay the mortgage or pay for our medicine or pay for anything else. We don t pay for all the stuff we need, and think we need, and then give from what is left over. That is the first-fruits idea. It is hard because we think we need all sorts of other things first. But that is the point of sacrificial. And consider this when it comes to sacrificial. No one has died for his sins. Only the sinless Son of God did that. Or, as St. Paul said, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8: 9) Tuition Tax Credit: Don t forget about the Arizona Tuition Tax Credit. There are new brochures on this on the back counter at church. Rather than the HELP Foundation operating this, ACSTO (Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization) is now in charge of this. There are two brochures explaining the program and the credit maximums for both the original tax credit and the Overflow/PLUS tax credit. You can help support Lutheran education and receive a credit on your Arizona state income taxes by this program. Please make use of this program if you are able to do so. If you have any questions, please speak to Pastor Spaude or you can contact Jeff Weinstein who is the WELS Church Coordinator for this program ( or jweinstein@acsto.org.) More information can be found on the website acsto.org. We have four students at Pilgrim Lutheran School in Mesa (Tyler Altman, Autumn Kucenski, Jenna Traudt and Elena Wiley). Please speak with Pastor Spaude if you would like to designate the donation to go to their tuition expenses. Water Bottles: There is a water cooler filled with water bottles in the Bible Class room. This will be wheeled out onto the patio for after church refreshments to supplement the coffee available. Donations of water bottles would be appreciated so that the cooler can be kept stocked. The RAS Scholarship: A scholarship to aid students at Martin Luther College has been set up in honor of Roger A Sievert, former teacher at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Tempe, who is now at home with the Lord. This RAS (Mr. Sievert was known as RAS ) is for students at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN who are sophomores, juniors or seniors, are education majors, are form the Arizona/California District of WELS and has financial need. For more information or forms to send in donations, please speak with Staff Minister Charlie Kuether or Pastor Spaude.

6 November Birthdays Best wishes to the following who celebrate birthdays this month: Matthew Schroeder Nov. 1 Gene Beckmann Nov. 2 Savanna Zorn Nov. 3 Sandra Hamilton Nov. 3 Jeff DeSormeau Nov. 5 Amy Lowry Nov. 7 Cora Schroeder Nov. 7 Stephanie Osswald Nov. 9 Randi Rasmussen Nov. 9 Rebecca Mundt Nov. 10 Noah Salzwedel Nov. 10 Margaret Wolff Nov. 10 Evan McClelland Nov. 11 Jessica McClelland Nov. 13 Amy Schroeder Nov. 13 Hayden Rendell Nov. 16 Larry Altman Nov. 19 Wayne Converse Nov. 20 Adam Cross Nov. 25 Diana Laubenstein Nov. 25 Myron Lyons Nov. 28 Rachael Altman Nov. 29 If your birthday is not listed, please the office manager, Randi at randirasmussen@cox.net so your records can be updated. Through my Bible in a Year November 1 Luke John John John John John John John John Acts Acts Acts Acts Acts Acts Acts Acts Acts Acts Acts Romans Romans Romans Romans Romans Corinthians Corinthians Corinthians Corinthians Corinthians 1-4 If you would like to submit information for the monthly Courier, please it to Randi at randirasmussen@cox.net by the 15th of the prior month. Thank you.