A Word from Pastor Mike CHRISTMAS MEMORIES. Church Office Hours during The Holidays

Transcription

1 2017 A Word from Pastor Mike CHRISTMAS MEMORIES Many years ago, my mother had all of our family s old 8-mm home movies transferred on to DVDs so that my siblings and I could each own a copy of them. The DVDs contain so many wonderful memories from my childhood scenes from long-ago birthday parties, family vacations, summer picnics, Fourth-of-July parades, etc., etc. They are pretty funny to watch, all these years later. Of all the memories on the movie DVDs, I think I cherish the Christmas ones the most. Every year, my parents made sure to film us children opening our Christmas presents. And in the background, as we kids frantically tore open gift after gift, you see my Grandpa Zaske with his long-sleeved shirts my Grandma Zaske with her cat-eye glasses my uncle Kevin with his 1960 s mop-top hairstyle my dad with his plaid pants What fantastic remembrances! Speaking of the gifts, from the DVDs I noticed that we kids used to get at least a dozen gifts apiece (if not more). And yet, forty-plus years later as I watched those gifts being opened, it s amazing how few of them I remembered. Even the few that I actually did remember mean nothing to me now as an adult. Perhaps there s a lesson in that I don t remember the gifts, but one thing about Christmas that I DO remember is that our family ALWAYS went to church at Christmas either on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day. Of all the family traditions, it was the one nonnegotiable. My parents made sure that we Zaske kids knew the REAL reason for Christmas, and that we knew what the most precious gift given during this holiday season is. Worshiping God for sending us his beloved Son was always a part of the Christmas holiday in our family. We never once failed to attend church at Christmas to praise God for what he had done. Now that I m older, I wouldn t trade those worship memories for any present on earth. As you go about making your Christmas-time plans for this upcoming holiday season, I pray that you will do for your loved ones what my parents did for me I pray that worship will be one of your non-negotiables. I pray that you realize the importance of praising God for sending Jesus to save us from our sins. I pray that no child would miss out on what TRULY matters at Christmas. Bless your loved ones bless yourself come and worship! And make this the best Christmas yet! Church Office Hours during The Holidays The church office will close at noon during the Holiday Season Dec. 22 Dec. 29 All 2017 contributions must be received by December 31st to be included in your 2017 giving records. Pastor Mike Zaske 2018 offering envelopes will be available in the narthex beginning December 3rd. Please do not begin using your new envelopes until after the first of the year.

2 2017 Sunday Advent Worship Schedule 9:30 a.m. 1st Sunday in Advent December 3 It All Happened In The Country Presented by Sunday and Wednesday School children 2nd Sunday in Advent December 10 Heaven s Child Presented by Free Spirit Installation of Pastor Jeff Sandgren will also be held during this worship service. 3nd Sunday in Advent December 17 Never A Brighter Star Presented by Our Savior s Singers 4th Sunday in Advent December 24 Service of Lessons and Carols

3 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year From Our Savior s Staff! C h r i s t m a s E v e W o r s h i p D e c e m b e r : 0 0 ( i n t e r p r e t e d f o r t h e h e a r i n g i m p a i r e d ) 5 : 0 0 p m 1 0 : 0 0 p m C a n d l e l i g h t S e r v i c e W i t h H o l y C o m m u n i o n Pastor Jeff Sandgren Pastor Mike Zaske Georganne Danielson Kira Anderson Wendy Smith-Becker Megan Klapperich Chris Trebelhorn Mark Zentner Aaron Trebelhorn Gabe Trebelhorn Pam Salveson DeWayne Wee Donn Johnson Curt Danielson Mark Hedenstrom Paula Hildebrandt I f y o u w o u l d l i k e t o p r o v i d e s p e c i a l m u s i c d u r i n g a n y o f t h e C h r i s t m a s E v e S e r v i c e s, p l e a s e c o n t a c t G e o r - g a n n e D a n i e l s o n b y e m a i l ; g e o u r s a v i o r s f b o. o r g. o r c a l l , e x t

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6 Congregational Life Our Sympathy to: Fa cts a nd Fi g ure s for October 2017 Pat and Richard Swenson In the death of their daughter, Brenda Swenson. 3 Year Comparison Jessica, Danielle, Adam and Jacob Swenson In the death of their mother, Brenda Swenson. Audrey Nyman In the death of her son, October Offering $61,227 $57,487 $52,771 October Expense $50,538 $51,041 $51,703 Peter Nyman. Month Net 3 Year Comparison May the promise of the resurrection into eternal life give you much hope and comfort in this time of loss. Congratulations to Josh Scheffler $10,689 $ 6,445 $ 1,067 and Year To Date 3 Year Comparison Megan Hanson Who were married at Our Savior s on Saturday, October 28th. God s blessings as they begin their new life together. We want to begin by saying Thank You All for your generous support throughout the year, we have been truly blessed! As we approach the final month of the year, we want to keep you updated on our financial need for the remainder of the year. We have 5 Sundays left in the year to cover $108, in the budgeted operating expenses in order to end the year in the black. This is an average weekly offering need of $18, for each of the next 5 weeks. We ask that you prayerfully consider your giving as we come to the end of We are thankful to the staff who have been very conscientious in managing expenses throughout the year. We ask that you prayerfully consider your giving as we come to the end of Offering $533,927 $538,819 $526,615 Expense $535,695 $520,517 $532,361 Year To Date Net 3 Year Comparison ($ 1,768) $18,303 ($ 5,746) Thank you for your faithful giving and for being willing to work towards full financial health at Our Savior s!

7 Attention Our Savior s Book Readers: Join us on Monday December 18th when we meet to discuss "Whish'n and Hop'n" by Wally Lamb. In December we will be meeting at Perkins Restaurant beginning at 7:30 pm for our discussion. Everyone is welcome. About the book: Wally Lamb, the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hour I First Believed, I Know This Much Is True, and She s Come Undone, delivers a holiday treat with Wishin and Hopin an unforgettable novella that captures the warmth and joy of the holiday season. Poignant and hilarious, in a vein similar to Jean Shepherd s A Christmas Story and David Sedaris s The Santaland Diaries, Lamb s Christmas tale focuses on a feisty parochial school fifth grader named Felix Funicello a distant cousin of the iconic Annette! (Barnes and Noble review) Lamplighters December 5 12:00pm In the All Purpose Room Christmas Luncheon with Our Savior s Staff Giving ELCA Good Gifts for Christmas You can make a difference in the lives of others around the world and in this country. The ELCA establishes long-term sustainable solutions to help alleviate hunger and poverty. Giving $10 for ten little chicks can make a big difference. Within months of birth, chickens are already laying eggs. The eggs provide protein-rich meals and something to sell at the market to improve the lives of a family struggling with hunger and poverty. Giving $50 for a goat provides daily nutrition for children and their families. Goats can survive in some of the world's harshest environments. Their offspring can rapidly transform a community when offspring are shared with other families in need. ELCA Good Gifts goes beyond animals in its giving opportunities. You can choose to give farming tools, school fees and uniform for a girl, a microloan for a woman to start a small business, support a refugee family for a week or month, vaccinations for a child, mosquito nets, communion supplies for an ELCA missionary, or stock a backpack with food. Our family is joining together to give to Good Gifts instead of buying Christmas presents for each other. There are 50 items from which to choose to give. For more information, visit or call Contact Mary Zentner at 507/ with any additional questions.

8 P a g e 8 F a i t h F o r m a t i o n K i r a A n d e r s o n Upcoming Stepping Stones Classes & Presentations: There will be no Sunday School during December! We are excited to hold Wiggle Worship as an alternative for your littles. See more information about Wiggle Worship on page 9 We hope your children and grandchildren will join us when they are here! Advent for ALL Sunday, December 3rd 10:30am Join us to make an advent log for your household and then a light lunch of soup and bread to follow. We ask that everyone pre-registers so there is enough food and advent items for each family unit. There is a sign up on the Welcome Center if you will be participating! 1st Grade Stepping Stone Our children often think that money just miraculously appears. How do you start to teach children about managing money, and spending responsibly. This stepping stone will explore how God intends for us to appreciate and use God s gift of money. We will talk about spending, giving, and saving. Class will meet on Wednesday, January 10th from 6:15-7:30pm in the Chapel. All Wednesday and Sunday School 1st Grade families are invited to attend this class. The presentation of the Stepping Stone will be on Sunday, January 14th and Wednesday, January 17th at the Worship Services. We look forward to having you all join us for this wonderful Stepping Stone. Pre Sunday School Stepping Stone Opportunity We are excited to have added a new Stepping Stone for our youngest members! Any child that has not yet entered Sunday School is invited to participate in their first Stepping Stone class called Worship Young. We will spend time together exploring the worship space and the church. Our hope is that families will find this space as theirs in the faith journey. Please join us on: Sunday, January 28th from 8:45 9:15 am (in the Sanctuary) We will celebrate this Stepping Stone in worship on: Sunday, February 4th at 9:30 am Children s Christmas Program Sunday, December 3 Join us as our Sunday and Wednesday School presents the story of Jesus' birth on Sunday December 3 rd. It All Happened in the Country is an exciting, fun-filled telling of the story of Jesus Birth. Filled with barn animals, cool city kids, charming country folks, and the nativity. This musical incorporates the message about the real reason Jesus came to earth from some different perspectives.

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12 December Volunteers Team 4 Dwight Elthon Larry Hafemeyer Ginger Myers Fred Grote Joe Grote Mark & Jodi Miller Dede Howie Dennis and Rita Wunderlich Dec. 24 3:00 pm Service Usher Team 6 Dec. 24 5:00 pm Service Usher Teams 1 & 2 Dec :00 pm Service Volunteers Needed Welcome Counter Dec. 3 Dec. 10 Dec. 17 Dec. 24 Dec. 31 Scott & Jill Finstuen Lyle & Ruth Olson Andy & Viv Anderson Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Communion December 3 & 17 December 3 December 17 Comm. Prep Dennis & Rita Wunderlich Mary Osborne Servers Dennis & Rita Wunderlich Marv & Mary Tatge Erica Staab-Absher Dan & Karen Rasmussen Butch Hanson Troy & Tara Dunn Amy Stadler Kira Anderson

13 Scripture Readers Dec. 3 Dec. 10 Dec. 17 Dec. 24 Dec. 31 Children s Program Free Spirit Program Our Savior s Singer s Program Lessons & Carols Linda Mueller Sound & Tech Team Dec. 3 Dec. 10 Dec. 17 Dec. 24 Dec. 24 Dec. 24 Dec. 24 Dec. 31 Curt Danielson/Georganne Danielson Gabe Trebelhorn/Chris Trebelhorn Jonna Hruby/Ken Butzow Mark Zentner/Dick Lawson 3:00 pm Service, Volunteers Needed 5:00 pm Service, Volunteers Needed 10:00 pm Service, Volunteers Needed Bryn Caron/Troy Caron

14 O u r S a v i o r s L u t h e r a n C h u r c h 1207 Prairie Ave South Faribault, MN Nonprofit Or. Bulk Rate U.S. Postage Paid Faribault, MN Permit No. 81 Change Service Requested V i s i t u s o n t h e w e b! w w w. o u r s a v i o r s f b o. o r g C a f é M i d w e e k D e c e m b e r M e n u December 6 BBQ Pork Sandwiches Serving is from 5:00-6:00pm Cost is $3.00 per person with a family maximum Of $ Come enjoy great food and fellowship with your Our Savior s family! December 13 Lasagna December 20 and 27 No Meal Served January 3 Agape Concert and Meal Sponsored by Youth attending the 2018 Youth Gathering and Mission Trip. (see page 10 for more details.)