SAT., DECEMBER 24 Christmas Eve Services 7pm and 11pm Candlelight Services with Holy Communion

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1 Connections S t. M a t t h e w L u t h e ra n C h u rc h C o n n e c t i n g Fa i t h W i t h L i fe! CALENDAR of EVENTS SAT., DECEMBER 17 FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT 10am-12pm Concord Room Reserved/ Al-Anon Mtg 5:00 pm Holden Evening Prayer SUN., DECEMBER 18 FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT St. Matthew tells the Christmas Story 9:30 am Christmas Story Worship 10:45 am Holiday Brunch 5:30 pm High School Youth Group at Pastor Maggie s No Sunday School or Adult Forum until January 8, 2017 MON., DECEMBER 19 8:30 am Morning Prayer Group 9:00 am Pastors Text Study 6:30 pm Girl Scouts TUES., DECEMBER 20 10:00 am Men s Coffee at Lincoln Square 7:00 pm Bell Choir Rehearsal 7:00 pm Boy Scouts WED., DECEMBER 21 9:30 am Prayer Shawl Ministry 7:00 pm Longest Night Service in the Chapel SAT., DECEMBER 24 Christmas Eve Services 7pm and 11pm Candlelight Services with Holy Communion SUN., DECEMBER 25 CHRISTMAS DAY 9:30 am Christmas Worship Pastor Bob on vacation through 1/3/17 MON., DECEMBER 26 CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY OFFICE CLOSED FRI., DECEMBER 30 Gayla on vacation today will be checked from offsite SAT., DECEMBER 31 10am-12pm NEW YEARS EVE Concord Room Reserved/ Al-Anon Mtg No service this evening SUN., JANUARY 1, 2017 NEW YEARS DAY 9:30 am Lessons and Carols No Adult Bible Study until January 11, 2016 No Choir Rehearsal until January 4, 2017 THURS., DECEMBER 22 9:00 am January 2017 Insight Newsletter Deadline 9:00 am Women s Bible Study at Prairie Winds FRI., DECEMBER 23 CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY OFFICE CLOSED Please note: There will not be any Connections next weekend. Keep this edition for upcoming events & dates to know! Please check on your friends & neighbors during this frigid weather!

2 Prayer Requests Rachael & family, friends of Michelle Birch Debbie Siegler, friend of Peg & John Warriner Dick Steeves, friend of Gary & June Volkening Msgr. Greg Ketchum, friend of Vickie Hart Kristi Daly, daughter-in-law of Judy & Leonard Wilson Tricia Mendoza, sister of Pete Kale Elizabeth Pellum, mother-in-law of Gayla Pellum Macy, friend of Liz & Mel Schwartz Laurie Padjen, friend of the Deck family Noah, great-great nephew of Liz & Mel Schwartz Andrew Rogers, friend of Jill Quisenberry Ray Miner, friend of Garris Graham Brody, friend of Danielle Deck Sharon Hedrick John Gantz Isabella Gonzalez Beth Riddle Muryl Ohms Rita Vanier Judi Smith Mandi Gilliland Suzanne Ross Carolyn Adams Rod Warfield Diana Marshall Remember our shut-ins: Robert Anderson Vivian Larson Elaine Ebeling Leona Saathoff Please note: Names on the list for prayers will be posted for one month unless otherwise requested. Please contact the church office with any updates or extensions. Thank you. STAFF OF ST. MATTHEW LUTHERAN CHURCH PHONE: Pastor Robert J. Rasmus Associate Pastor Maggie Falenschek Office Manager Gayla Pellum Sunday School Superintendent Ann Rasmus Nursery Ruby Splittstoesser & Amber Dickman Parish Nurses Aziza Awate, Kathie Pound, Beth Riddle & Rita Vanier Connections Deadline: Submit announcements in writing to the church office or by to no later than 9:00 a.m. Wednesday. Thank you!

3 Welcome! St. Matthew Lutheran Church is a fellowship of Christian believers called to: grow in Christ, share the Gospel, serve God s people. Do come again to St. Matthew Lutheran Church where you are always welcome. Worship Services Saturday, 5:00 pm A relaxed & informal worship held in the Christ Chapel. Sunday, 8:30 am Spirited traditional worship that focuses on participation through the liturgy, the great hymns of the Church, & corporate confession of our faith. Sunday, 10:45 am Praise & worship in an open & accessible style. A Word from the St. Matthew Stephen Ministers That Christ may live in your hearts through faith. Ephesians 3:17 looking high into winter trees I see the distant nests cradled in arms of branches. nests: round, full of warmth, softness in the welcoming center, a circle of earth s tiny goodness, flown from the far corners, patiently pieced together, and hollowed into a home. nests: awaiting the treasure of life, simple, delicate dwelling places from which song will eventually echo and freedom of wings give flight. advent has been on my mind. prepare the nest of heart. patch up the broken parts. place more softness in the center. sit and warm the home with prayer. give the Christ a dwelling place. If you look high into the trees on December days you can see little bunches of nests everywhere. A nest is a home prepared from everyday fragments: twigs, dry grasses, pebbles, mud, saliva, feathers, and many other bits of ordinary things. Whatever the kind of nest, or wherever they are placed, they are hollowed as a dwelling place to receive the gift of life. The Word comes quietly and in an ordinary way. By the twigs of our trials and tensions, the soft down of our love and fidelity, the pebbles of our patience and pain, the straw of our struggles and strivings, the mud of our humanness and growing, the dry grass of our surrender and our daily dyings. All the bits and pieces of our lives, like those that form the nests, is where Jesus comes to us in the midst of everyday fragments and asks us to create a space for him. When John writes of Jesus saying: Make your home in me, as I make mine in you he could well have written: Make your nest in me as I make my nest in you. Keep welcoming Jesus into your heart-nest this Advent season. Consider putting a nest on a branch of your Christmas tree to remind you to prepare a home in your heart for Jesus. Remember it is there that He continues to be born and desires to make a home, if only we will receive him and warm the nest with love. A message from: Fresh Bread and other Gifts of Spiritual Nourishment by Joyce Rupp The STM Stephen Ministers reminds you that God dwells in our midst through the people around us. During this busy Advent season surround yourself with others who are also making a nest for Jesus.

4 One Service THIS SUNDAY at 9:30am! St. Matthew tells the Christmas Story Join us on Sunday, December 18th and share in the Christmas story within our 9:30 worship service. A Holiday Brunch will follow this service in the Fellowship Hall. St. Matthew tells the Christmas Story Holiday Brunch This Sunday! Join your St. Matthew family for a Holiday Brunch in the Fellowship Hall immediately following the 9:30 service on Sunday, December 18. Our meal will be potluck with beverages provided. Please bring a favorite holiday brunch food item to share. Sign up sheets for food are posted on the bulletin board in the narthex. Hosted by your Parish Life Team LONGEST NIGHT SERVICE THIS WEEK! While Advent is a season of hope and Christmas is a season of Joy, not everyone feels hopeful or like celebrating. Our Longest Night worship service will provide a time and space of solace during the often frenetic days surrounding the celebration of Christmas. We will come together on Wednesday, December, 21st at 7pm for a quiet candlelight service of hymns, prayer, and healing. Bring your honest yearnings and together we will seek the return of light and hope. Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Service Assistants There will be sign up sheets on the bulletin board in the narthex for service assistants for the 7pm and 11pm Christmas eve services and for the 9:30 service on Christmas morning. These services are very well attended and many assistants will be needed. Won t you please consider assisting the night and morning we celebrate the birth of the Christ child? Please sign up today! We will also be needing volunteers for our New Year s Day service on Sunday, January 1st.

5 POINSETTIAS - LAST WEEKEND TO ORDER It is time to order our poinsettias to decorate the altar for Christmas. For only $7 each, beautiful 6 foil covered pots with big blooms will be delivered to church in time for our Christmas Eve services. A sign up sheet is located on the bulletin board in the narthex. Thank you! Join Us For Christmas SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24 Christmas Eve Services 7pm and 11pm Candlelight Services with Holy Communion SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25 Christmas Morning Service 9:30am Christmas Worship with Communion A BAROQUE CHRISTMAS CONCERT On Sunday, December 18, at 7:30 p.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 405 W. Clark, Champaign, bring family and friends for the glow of holiday music with the University H.S. Madrigals and the BACH chorus and orchestra, featuring selections from J. S. Bach s Christmas Oratorio, and a medley of hymns and carols with audience participation. Tickets may be purchased at the door ($20 General/$10 Students) or in advance at MEN S COFFEE TUESDAY THIS WEEK! JOIN US FOR A SECOND CUP! Our Men s Coffee group has decided to meet twice a month! All available STM men are invited to gather for a cup of coffee & conversation on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, December 20th at 10:00am in the Lincoln Square food court area. Men of all ages are welcome & encouraged to join our discussions. PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY THIS WEEK! The next meeting of the Prayer Shawl Ministry will be Wednesday, December 21st at 9:30 a.m. in the Concord Room at church. We welcome all who knit. If you know of someone who would be comforted by a prayer shawl, please contact Joan Peterson ( ), Mary Anderson ( ), Pastor Bob, Pastor Maggie or the church office ( ). The stories from the recipients are beautiful & filled with gratitude for the prayers & love that goes into making them.

6 ALTAR FLOWERS The flowers on the altar this weekend are given by Kathie & Jim Pound in celebration of their 2nd wedding anniversary. Congratulations to both of you! Help make our altar beautiful! Celebrate a birthday, anniversary, someone s life or just because. The 2017 sign up sheet is now posted on the bulletin board in the narthex. WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK! The WELCA Bible Study is now meeting at Prairie Winds of Urbana... same day (last Thursday of the month), same time (9:30am), just a new location. If you would like to join the women's Bible studies based on the Gather magazine Bible studies (& we would welcome any other Bible study ideas) pick up one of the complimentary copies of the magazine today outside the Concord Room. Join us on December 22nd at Prairie Winds for fellowship & coffee. Hope to see you then! Thanks ladies, Mary Anderson , mladcs@illinois.edu HELP US FEED HUNGRY FAMILIES Our help to families in need of food is called upon year around, Winter is upon us and the food need is especially needed at this STM time of year. Your generous donations of food, money and your volunteer time to the STM food pantry makes it possible to help fill the weekly request for food. Here are some things that we can use at this time: canned condensed vegetable beef soup, mushroom soup, tomato soup, (light or packed in its open juice) fruit cocktail, peaches,pears, pineapple, applesauce, canned carrots, mixed vegetables, canned or bottles of juice, ketchup, mustard, boxed mashed potatoes, cornbread mix, saltine crackers, pancake syrup, complete pancake mix, toilet paper & bars of soap. Thank you for your support with this ministry to our community. If you have any question about STM food pantry, or would like to help call Richard or Kay King at NEW OFFERING ENVELOPES Your 2017 offering envelopes are available for pick up in the narthex now. They are arranged alphabetically. Please recycle any 2016 envelopes you have left at the end of the year and begin using the new ones on January 1st. Also, if you give through Simply Giving you still have envelope packets to be picked up. JUST A REMINDER If you have made changes to your pledge to St. Matthew s for 2017 and generously give through our Simply Giving program please be sure to update your Simply Giving by completing a new form that was included in your acknowledgment letter & returning it to church. Thank you for your support of the ministries and programs of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. Randy Alumbaugh, Financial Secretary It s Time to Make Up the Next Worship Assistant Schedule! I will be scheduling worship assistants in early January for the February through May 2017 services. If you are currently part of the schedule, please contact me to let me know if you are unavailable for certain weekends and/or if you have a scheduling preference. Please have your requests and/or preferences ed to me at my office address (gayla.stm@stmatthewurbana.org) no later than January 6th. If you have any questions, please give me a call at the office. Thank you! Gayla Pellum Thank you for being a Santa to a Senior this year! Merry Christmas!