The Contact The Monthly Newsletter December 2017 Trinity Lutheran Church, ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) God s Work.

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1 The Contact The Monthly Newsletter December 2017 Trinity Lutheran Church, ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) God s Work. Our Hands Christmas Bazaar Saturday, December 2rd 11:00 AM-1:00 PM Serving sloppy Joes, chips, desserts, pop and coffee. Take Outs Available. Crafts, homemade baked goods, lefsa, and candy. Visit our Attic Treasures for great buys on household items, holiday decorations and new outdoor seasonal décor Worship Schedule Please join us for worship. There is a place for you. 9:00 am Traditional Worship Service. We celebrate Holy Communion on the 1 st and 2 nd Sunday of the month. Children are always welcome. Advent the first season of the liturgical year of the church. The color of Advent is blue for hope. The day the church officially begins preparations for Christmas. Sunday, December 3. Worship. No communion. Just Friends (a local singing group) will be leading the worship. Sunday, December 10. Worship / Holy Communion Today we will sing many carols from the hymnal. Sunday, December 17. 9:00 am. Sunday School Christmas Program. No Stress, No Fuss Christmas Pageant. This Christmas pageant allows children to tell the story of Christmas, sing a little, and get a chance to enact the story along with other members of the congregation. Sunday, December 24. No 9:00 am worship service 5:00 pm. Christmas Eve Worship Candlelight Worship with Holy Communion On Christmas Eve we celebrate God being born on earth as a poor Jewish child, whom we call Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. With the angels we sing, "Glory to God!" Join us to celebrate the birth of Christ with family and friends. A Blessed Christmas to all of you! From Pastor Paul and the staff Sunday, December 31. Worship. Poinsettias for Trinity. If you would like to contribute to the beauty of Trinity s Altar area for the Christmas season, please consider ordering one or two potted poinsettias. To purchase a Christmas poinsettia, complete the form below and make check payable to Hy-Vee Floral. We are planning on having poinsettias in the church for the Dec.10 worship service. Put the form and check/cash in the offering plate during worship services or return to the church office by December 8. Or, mail this form to the church office/trinity. You are invited to take your poinsettias home following our Christmas Eve service or thereafter Christmas Poinsettia Order Form Poinsettia plant (6 inch plant) Price/each $8.00 Quantity total $ Given by: In memory of: In honor of: Cash $

2 ELCA GOOD GIFTS Give a gift that isn't easy to wrap! As November closes, our thoughts shift from the season of Thanksgiving to Advent, a time of preparation for Christ s birth and second coming. Last year during the Advent season, Trinity members were given the opportunity to participate in the ELCA Good Gifts program. This is a wonderful program allowing members to purchase gifts that include valuable farm animals, medical, and school supplies for those in need around the world. This year again, during Advent, you will be able to join in the gift giving options that change lives around the world in honor of friends and loved ones. Look for the table in the Narthex. Where your money goes. ELCA Good Gifts are unique because the church (present in far corners of the world) is the delivery system. Our churches identify the needs and provide solutions. Less than 10 % of your gifts are used for administrative and fundraising costs which makes it a program with costs significantly lower than other organizations. Thanks so much for your continued support in this amazing service! Christmas blessings to you. Pastor Paul A Special Thank You Thank you to the following who delivered Meals on Wheels for the month of November: Avis Rugroden, Al Waldhauser, Ken Meyer, Georgia and Denny Dinneen, John Harrington, & Pam Goehring. Thanks You All! This holiday season, on behalf of the church council, I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported Trinity Lutheran Church this past year with their time, talent and financial contributions and we look forward to support from all of our members in the year ahead. Sincerely, Carol Raimann, President of the Church Council Snow Removal. We need someone to clear the sidewalks with a machine and then we need someone to shovel the snow off the sidewalks and steps. Please leave a message on the church answering machine. FAITH FORMATION NEWS Daily devotions. Want to stay connected with God each day? Check out the free daily devotional booklet Portals of Prayer and Christ in Our Home available on the shelf in the Narthex (entrance to the worship center). Men s Breakfast Saturday, December 9th, at 7:30-9:00 AM Please or call Pastor Paul know if you plan to come so he can have enough food. Marriage Encounter A Marriage Encounter weekend is a process a married man and woman experience. This weekend gives spouses an opportunity to grow in their marriage through open and honest communication, face-to-face sharing and a heart to heart encounter in a comfortable, relaxed setting. December 9-10, 2017 Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center th Street West, Farmington, MN Please contact Marriage Encounter by or with questions. Youth News FISH (fun in serving Him) Youth in grades 3-6 meet every Wednesday, after school, for one hour, at the church. Sunday school does not meet on December 3, 24, 31. Confirmation does not meet on December 27 Teens Encounter Christ For more information contact Devin Buendorf or Pastor Paul Andree Associated Church, Owatonna. Friday, 1/26/2017. Weekend ends Sunday, 1/28/2017, approx. 6:00 p.m. What goes on at a TEC Weekend? Friendship: Weekenders will spend their three days with other youth and one adult laughing, singing, being served, and creating new friendships! Who can attend TEC? Any teenager from 10th through 12th grade is eligible to attend. 9th graders may attend the winter and spring weekends if room allows. They should fill out a registration form with a parent s signature. There is a $40 fee for each weekender. Scholarship funds are available if the cost would prevent someone from coming.

3 PLANET WISDOM DECEMBER 1-2 $64.00 GRACE CHURCH 9301 Eden Prairie Road Eden Prairie, Minnesota Lineup: For All Seasons, Slap Happy Comedy, Fred Lynch, Heather Flies. Contact Pastor Paul. PlanetWisdom is a two-day regional conference designed for middle school and high school students to dig deeper into the Bible and see their world from God s perspective. News of the Trinity Family: We encourage you to share in the times of joy and sorrow with fellow members of God s family at Trinity. Birth For what thanksgiving can we render to God for you, for all the joy which we feel for your sake. 1 Thessalonians 3:9. 11/10/20/17. Harrison Ryan, parents are Calli and Ryan Miller. Grandparents are Dale and Dawn Halgren. Great grandparents are Joyce and Theresa Reese. Funerals Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed. -1 Cor. 11/16/2017. Aryls Edwards. Please keep the following friends & members of our community of faith in your prayers of thanksgiving or for comfort, peace, and healing: Jim Weber (brother in law of Donna Hedman), Vince Peterson, Carol Schlaak, Phyllis Shurson, Karen Koehler, (daughter of Laura Truebenbach), Jedidiah Bisker (friend of Marlene Tappe), Karen Warke, Jill Anderson, Jewell Mendenhall, Jean Billing, Ronda Staloch, Al Batt, Clyde Lundholm, Sandra Schuette, Jeff Boelter, Shawn Davis, Shane Davis, Marge Haddy, and those in care centers. Karen L. Anderson, our Missionary to Chile. Our brothers and sisters in Colombia, South Sudan, Tanzania. Visitation Pastor Paul welcomes the opportunity to visit with persons when they are sick or hurting in some way, but he needs to be informed that a visit is desired. Sometimes he knows about situations where a visit is wanted, but sometimes he s not informed or updated causing someone perhaps to wonder why a visit hasn t been made. Because of privacy issues, hospitals and care facilities cannot inform churches when persons are in their care, so it s left up to families or the persons themselves to contact the church or the pastor to let them know of their need. Please help us help you! Thanks Generous God, Generous People I am grateful for your many gifts that you give to Trinity and for the confidence you place in the church council. Pastor Paul NEED OFFERING ENVELOPES? Please contact the church secretary or Pastor Paul when you need more envelopes. If you have any questions about your contributions, please feel free to call Mary Berg, Financial Secretary. Finance update... General Fund Balance -$9, An Automatic Way to Give Dear Members of Trinity, We are offering a more convenient way to manage your giving to Trinity. Simply Giving, managed by Vanco Payment Solutions and endorsed by Thrivent, is a direct payment program that allows you to set up your contribution so it is debited automatically from your checking or savings account. You no longer have to bring cash or checks to church. Giving electronically helps by providing consistent support for Trinity and makes giving that much simpler! Of course, you do not have to participate in this program. We provide offering envelopes for all members who request them. You can order envelopes by contacting Bonnie Isder at the church office, or trinluth@hickorytech.net. Or, as always, you can give with cash or check while in worship. However, if you give cash and don't use envelopes we can't keep a record of your giving for you to have at tax time. No matter how you choose to give, your continued support of Trinity Lutheran Church is sincerely appreciated! Trinity Lutheran Endowment Fund Here is your chance to make a significant gift to Trinity and also protect your estate for your family, loved ones and other organizations. Contact Terry Hansen or Brandon Wayne to receive more information about giving to Trinity.

4 Church Council Meeting November 2017 Minutes Attended: Pastor Paul Andree, Donna Hansen, Brenda Dobberstein, Kathy Meyer, Carol Raimann, and Dave Sandry Excused: Bob Battenfeld, Tom Pautsch, Eric Hendrickson, Chad Buendorf, Tony Schlaak, and Julie Perkins Meeting called to order by Carol Raimann. Motion made, seconded, and passed to accept the October 2017 minutes as they were printed. Motion made, seconded, and passed to accept the October 2017 Financial Report as they were printed. Education & Youth Report: Sunday School continues to have good attendance The Christmas Sunday School Program will be a No Stress no Fuss Christmas program on Dec. 17th during worship Property and Management Report: Church Maintenance: Items still to be dealt with: 1. Church Maintenance Report: a. Kathy & Jon Meyer will look into the water damage done on ceiling at landing of east door; water damage in lights going up the steps to balcony, water damage done on wall in table/chair storage room and outside the room. b. The hand railing going from the sacristy to the basement needs to be fixed c. Need rain gutters on roof at the main entrance to the church before winter d. Bohlen s did not fix the heating leak in the education room. This can only be fixed when the heat is off because the pipes need to be drained. Keep an eye on this and hopefully it will keep until spring. e. We are still looking for someone to do snow removal and someone to shovel snow off the sidewalk Worship & Evangelism Report: Constitution: Progress on this is continuing. Stewardship Report: Stewardship Counters were lined up for the next month. We will be taking nominations for new council members for 2018 Start collecting agenda items for the annual meeting, which is on January 21, 2018 There will be a joint Thanksgiving service at St Peter Church, November 22, 7:00 p.m. We will be decorating the church for Christmas on November 25th, 9 am. Pastor Espe here on November 26 Christmas Bazaar, December 2, 11:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m Just Friends will lead worship on December 3. We are considering having only one worship service on Sunday, December 24, which would be at 5pm. Pastor Paul will check with other members to get their thoughts on this. Pastor s Report Attended Pastor to Pastor meeting at Gustavus Adolphus College on October Attended a planning for retirement meeting at the synod office on October 16. Attended MN River Conference Pastors meeting at Medo Lutheran, Mapleton, on October 17. Conducted a graveside service at St. Olaf Cemetery on October 27. Took part with worship at the NRCC, Beacon, Royal Villa on November 2. Attended the Southeastern Minnesota Synod Theological Conference for Pastors at Onalaska, WI, November 5-7. Next meeting: December 13, 7:00 PM.

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6 DECEMBER Ushers: Chad Buendorf Devin Buendorf Curt Krause Keith Schlaak Chad Schlaak Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 3 9:00am Worship w/ JUST FRIENDS No Communion 10 9:00am Worship Communion Sunday School 17 9:00am Sunday School Christmas Program 24 5:00pm Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship with Holy Communion 31 9:00am Worship 4 8:30am Quilting 11 8:30am Quilting 18 8:30am Quilting 25 Christmas Day 5 6 3:30pm F.I.S.H. 6:15 Confirmation :30pm F.I.S.H. 6:15 Confirmation 7:00 Council Mtg :30pm F.I.S.H. 6:15 Confirmation NO F.I.S.H. NO Confirmation 7 8 Wedding Rehersal Altar Guild: Barb Finseth Christmas Bazaar 11am 1pm 9 7:30am Mens Breakfast Katie Manthe Wedding