Zion s Good News. Sunday Worship 9:00 a.m. Advent Services Wednesdays, December 5th, 12th, and 19th Supper at 5:30, Service at 6:15 p.m.

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1 Zion Lutheran Church Legacy Street Stratford, WI Phone: Fax: We re on the Web Non Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Stratford, WI Permit No. 6 ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH Zion s Good News DECEMBER 2018 Sunday Worship 9:00 a.m. Advent Services Wednesdays, December 5th, 12th, and 19th Supper at 5:30, Service at 6:15 p.m. J-Team and Little Lutherans and Youth Group Wednesdays, December 5th and 12th Disciples for Christ ~ Parents Night Sunday, December 16th Christmas Program Practice Wednesdays, December 5th and 12 th 3:15 5:15 Children s Christmas Program December 16, 2018 during 9:00 Worship Christmas Eve Worship 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Candle Light & Holy Communion

2 Advent The New Year in the Church begins with the season of Advent a time to help us prepare for Christmas, when we celebrate the fulfillment of our longing for the Savior with the birth of Jesus. So, what is Advent? It s the season that lasts about four weeks, beginning four Sundays before Christmas and ending on Christmas Eve. The Church s Christmas season begins on Christmas Eve and lasts for twelve days. So, Advent is a season of anticipation that leads up to Christmas. One of the primary traditions of Advent is the lighting of the Advent wreath. Each candle lit represents an aspect of the spiritual preparation for the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ. The circle of branches of the wreath symbolize the eternal cycle of the seasons while the evergreens and lighted candles signify the persistence of life in the midst of winter. Prayer is also a tradition during this season. I d like to encourage and invite you to take time for meditation and reflection each day of Advent by remembering to offer God your gifts of heartfelt gratitude and love. I know well how busy the days leading up to Christmas can be, but time set aside for prayer will nourish your soul and spirit. Another popular tradition of Advent is the Advent calendar, although these calendars frequently follow the entire month of December instead of strictly adhering to the Advent season. Advent calendars open up to mark each day and can contain anything from prayers to candy, depending on the calendar. Pick up an Advent calendar in the narthex to use during Advent. You will also find suggestions for families in the Faith Formation section of your worship announcements. Put simply, Advent is the season that leads up to Christmas. It s a time we use to pray and reflect in anticipation of the coming of our Lord and the start of the Christmas season. May God bless your journey this Advent. Pastor Sue YOUR CHURCH STAFF COUNCIL MEMBERS President: Brenda Castellano V. Pres.: Maryel Schoenfuss Secretary: Angie Guralski Treasurer: Marge Redetzke Evangelism: Cory Wiesman Faith Formation: Jackie Fischer & Brooke Grell Property: Lee Spindler Stewardship: Amy Cournoyer Worship: Lois Miller PASTOR: Sue Eidahl Home Phone: eides@zionlc.com Secretary: Lori Lang office@zionlc.com WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ZION Write us at Zion Lutheran Church, Legacy Street, Stratford, WI Phone us at :30 a.m. to 1 p.m. or leave a voice mail message. Or us at office@zionlc.com or directly to s above. WEB SITE: TRADITIONAL WORSHIP 9:00 a.m. INDEX Page 1 December Schedule 2 Pastor Sue s Letter 3 Advent Worship Services 4 Special Music / Treat Bags / Contemplative Worship / Pastoral Acts / J-Team and Little Lutherans 5 Good Gifts Tree / Christmas Worship Decorations / Operation Christmas 6 Bishop s Christmas Message 7 Birthdays and Anniversaries 8 Update from the Fribergs 9 Annual Reports / Building Update / Bible Study /Holiday Scrip Bonus 10 Staff Christmas Greetings / Council Minutes 11 Church Staff and Index Pull out: December Calendar and Serving Schedule NEWSLETTER DEADLINE December 14th. ANNOUNCEMENT DEADLINE Wednesdays by 9:00 a.m. WEEKLY Goes out on Monday morning. office@zionlc.com to be added to the receiver list. PLEASE keep the office updated: Address & changes Births, Deaths, Hospitalizations Phone / Cell changes 2 11

3 We pray that the child of Bethlehem will find a welcome place in your heart and in your life, that you may know the wonder of being loved unconditionally, cherished unceasingly, and saved everlastingly. A Blessed Christmas to you From the Staff of Zion Lutheran Church Council Minutes Zion Lutheran Church Council met on Monday November 19, 2018 President Brenda Castellano called the meeting to order Lois Miller led with devotions. During the meeting the council: Approved the Secretary Report. Approved the Treasurer Report. Approved the Ministry Team Report Pastor was happy with the Thanksgiving Service, planning advent services, getting ready for 2 services on Christmas eve, Pastor will be going home for Christmas Day Received a matching fund request for the Bev Aschenbrenner Memorial Shelter Approved the Budget to be presented and voted on by the congregation We will continue to have Ketchup envelopes available if anyone would like to donate Looking for anyone who is interested in serving a 3year term on council Respectfully submitted by Angie Guralski, Secretary * You can get a full copy of the Secretary s notes from the office. Advent Worship Calm and Bright This year is the 200th anniversary of the debut of "Silent Night, Holy Night." This hymn has become the best-loved worship moment of many Christians. Something mystical occurs as we light our candles and sing the hope of "all is calm, all is bright" peace and light for the world. We will celebrate the carol's message over the entire season of Advent and highlight its call for our lives that can guide us all year long. Advent 1: Sleep in Peace PEACE: Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon Virgin Mother and Child Holy Infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace. Advent 2: Glories Stream JOY: Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight, Glories stream from heaven afar, Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia"! Christ, the Savior is born, Christ, the Savior is born. Advent 3: Redeeming Grace LOVE: Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love's pure light, Radiant beams from Thy holy face, With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth. Advent 4: Let us Sing HOPE: Silent night! Holy night! Wondrous star, lend thy light; with the angels let us sing, "Alleluia" to our King: Christ the Savior is born! Christ the Savior is born. Wednesday Evening Advent Worship Join us for worship on Wednesday evenings at 5:30 for supper and 6:15 worship in the Family Center. Joseph: Peace--After he and Mary have settled into the barn, Joseph vents his doubts and fears about being the father of a King. Mary: Hope--When God s angel told Mary what God wanted from her, she was afraid and confused. But, she said yes. Shepherds: Joy--The shepherd has just been visited by an angel announcing the Messiah. The shepherd s joy and excitement bubble over as he realizes what it means for the world (and for him). 10 3

4 Special Music for Christmas Eve Anyone interested in offering special music for a Christmas Eve service please contact Mary Wussow or the church office, by December 12th. Voice, instrument, adult, child - all are welcome. Please share the title of your music, name(s) of people involved and the preference of service time 5:00 PM or 7:00 PM. Christmas Program Treat Bags Zion members, we are looking for donations for the treat bags for this year s Christmas Program on December 16th. Popcorn balls, fruit cups, pudding cups, candy, or whatever you would like to provide. Please bring to church by Sunday, December 9th. We will be filling 75 bags. Contemplative Worship will not be held in December. It will resume in January Pastoral Acts Pastor Sue officiated at the Baptism of Violet Peirce, and the Funerals of Patricia Zopfi and Robert Stotmeister. Annual Reports are due January 2, Copies of 2017 reports will be in team mailboxes the first week of December. Building Update 2018 Payment Bi-Weekly Start Payment Interest Principal Ending Dates Balance Amount Paid Paid Balance 08/03 & 08/17 $392, $ 3, $1, $ 1, $ 390, /31 $390, $ 1, $ $ $ 389, /04 $389, $20, $ 20, $ 369, /14 & 09/28 $369, $ 3, $1, $ 1, $ 367, /12 & 10/26 $367, $ 3, $1, $ 1, $ 365, Total monthly principal payments $ 26, Total monthly interest payments $ 3, Balance of loan as of $ 365, Partners Bank Building checking acct balance as of $ 23, Everyone is welcome to join us for Bible Study. Tuesday Mornings 10-11:30 in the Conference Room. We will be studying the lesson for the coming Sunday. What a great way to prepare for Sunday Worship. Little Lutherans (Kindergarten 3 rd Grade) and J-Team (4 th 6 th Grade) will be held Wednesdays, December 5th and 12th. After school until 5:15 p.m. Christmas Program Program practice will take place during this time. Class for Little Lutherans and J- Team will still be provided as usual for those who are not able to participate in the program. If you are interested in helping with snacks or teaching, contact Jackie Fischer or Brooke Grell. HOLIDAY SCRIP BONUS Consider doing your Christmas shopping using Scrip cards! In November and December, for every $25 you spend on Scrip, your name will be entered into a drawing for a BONUS $25 Scrip of your choice. Drawings will be held on Dec. 2nd and Jan. 6th. Nearly EVERY place you shop or dine has Scrip available, and benefits Zion's youth in their mission efforts. 4 9

5 Friberg Update Nov 2018 Tanzania Over the past 40 years African nurses and doctors have been providing simple medical care at ten small Lutheran health centers on the Serengeti, Rift Valley, and Maasai Steppe. These church clinics were the only available care in vast remote areas. Organizations like WHO, Global Alliance, USAID, European Community, and Gates Foundation in partnership with national governments have dramatically improved health across the African Continent. However, these results have only been possible because of committed and competent staff on the ground working in tough conditions. The past decade has seen dramatic achievements in Tanzania: -Vaccinations have eradicated polio on the African continent, tetanus and measles are now uncommon. -Our two most common cancers are now preventable!!! Hepatitis B vaccine will make liver cancer rare and human papilloma virus vaccine will prevent most cervical cancers in women in the next few decades. -Malaria has decreased in many areas by 75% with the widespread use of insecticide-impregnated bednets and early treatment with combination drugs (these have two anti-malarials that prevent resistance from developing). Life-threatening falciparum malaria causing coma, severe anemia, organ failure and abortion has decreased markedly. -Twice yearly pill administrations to all school children prevent parasitic diseases like hookworm and schistosomiasis and chronic eye infections caused by chlamydia. -Prenatal care includes testing for anemia, HIV, syphilis, and toxemia. Pregnancies and deliveries are followed to decrease maternal mortality. -Antiretroviral drugs provided by the US government have held HIV in check at 5% of the population over the past 20 years. Women on ARV therapy do not infect their unborn children. Patients who were too weak to walk go back to their jobs and live healthy lives for decades. -Short and long-acting contraception is freely available to young women so that they can space children and keep family size smaller. Women who use contraception are generally much healthier and have healthier and better educated children. Poverty and malnutrition are dramatically reduced! We are grateful to all the congregations and individuals who support our work through ELCA Global Church Sponsorship. Our chance to visit with so many of you over the summer was encouraging and refreshing. Thank you for your faithful involvement in the work here. With thanks, Steve and Bethany Friberg Good Gifts Tree A Christmas tree will be set up in the Gathering Area again this year offering you an opportunity to give a gift that makes a difference in people s lives and around the world. Your gifts support long-term, sustainable solutions that ensure that these good gifts last for more than a couple of days or weeks. They keep on giving for years to come. Take an ornament or ornaments home with you and place the envelopes in the offering plate. CHRISTMAS WORSHIP DECORATIONS If you would like to order a poinsettia ($8.00) to help decorate the sanctuary, or donate money towards the Christmas trees, please complete a form. The forms are located on the Usher Table. Poinsettias are coming from the Stratford School Greenhouse. You may take your poinsettia home after Christmas Eve worship. Operation Christmas 2018 The Christmas tags are up and Operation Christmas is in full swing! Let s do our part to assist the Start Right program by providing needed items for their client families right here in Marathon County! We ve set a goal to create gift baskets for 25 families of the following items: diapers (any size), baby wipes, books for infants or toddlers, family board games, blankets, burp cloths, baby soap and lotion, family photo albums, family picture frames, snacks (granola bars, popcorn, etc.), and gift cards for family restaurants. On December 2nd, we will learn about the Start Right program during a visit from the county s Director of Family Health, Eileen Eckardt. Thank you for supporting Start Right through your Christmas giving! 8 5

6 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors. Bishop s Christmas Message 2018 Dear Friends of the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, I m writing this the day after I get home from my first ever trip to the Holy Land. My husband Randy and I decided that after three decades as pastors we should make a pilgrimage to all the places we ve been preaching about for so many years. I was excited to see Bethlehem, Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Temple Wall, and Athens, Corinth and Rome and all the other landmarks of our Spiritual Geography. I was especially excited to see Bethlehem. While I was in Bethlehem, I heard Pastor Lori Ruge-Jones, a gifted story teller recite from heart, Luke 2, the Christmas story. We were in a beautiful chapel on the site where according to tradition; the angels announced to the Shepherds the good news of Jesus birth. Imagine these familiar words, spoken from the heart, echoing off the stones of the Shepherd s Field chapel. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for see I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. The group of pilgrims I was with sat in silence for a few moments before we sang Christmas carols: O Little Town of Bethlehem, Angels we have heard on High, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night, Away in the Manger It was a holy moment and highlight of our trip to the Holy Land. It was simple, beautiful, goose bump, Hallmark Card moment. BUT the undercurrent of that moment is more complicated. As tourists we were well aware that Bethlehem in 2018 is a city controlled by the Palestinians and the surrounding area is controlled by Israel. It is a land that has been fought over throughout known history by those who considered it Holy; Jews, Muslims and Christians. It is a place that builds walls to separate, and struggles with daily violence and conflict. The Shepherds of first century were well aware that Bethlehem was under foreign occupation by Rome. The Roman Caesar, Augustus sent out a decree that Jews were to be enrolled in their hometown to be taxed. There were uprisings and revolts against Roman rule of the Jews. It was and is complicated and there is no quick fix. But all of that is far away or long ago. How about the here and now? Is your life like a beautiful peaceful Hallmark card wishing season s greetings or is your life more complicated like a major geopolitical conflict? Or is it somewhere in between? Regardless, there is one thing that is true, in the midst of it all God put on flesh and came down to us, to live among us. In the midst of it all, Jesus was born. DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS 1 - Duane Schraeder 2 - Kevin Miller 3 - Tierra Waddell 4 - Karlene Beyer 6 - Barb Wrensch 7 - Anthony Gliniecki Rose Huther Zachariah McBath 9 - Emmercyn Schiller 10 - Rod Huther Jacob Dahlke Lori Lang 11 - Gary Wussow 12 Jackson Dahlke Sally Epping Courtney Reno 13 - Douglas Bolen Jr. Brynn Wiesman 14 - Eileen Hoesly Jamie Wenzel 15 - Eddy Peterson Roland Kauffman 16 - Adam Brubaker DECEMBER ANNIVERSARIES 7 - Dennis & Jan Schmidt 8 - Ardell & Pat Emon 12 Dan & Sharon Mikelson 16 - Dennis & Marge Redetzke Les & Kristi Ormond 20 - Joel Jurgensen Cinnamin Harwood 21 - Dixie Weber Karen Polege 23 - Janita Syring Cindy Wiskerchen 24 - Gunner Mercer 25 - Travis Leick Kecia Krueger 27 - Alec Nagel 28 James Wiesman Reid Spindler 29 - JoAnn Werner Okley Wrensch 30 - Julie Bolen Garrett Moen Mason Kauffman Brandon Aschenbrenner 31 - Eleanora Stotmeister Clare Thompson Sandy Andersen Carisa Timm Dawson Gebelein Marissa Gebelein 20 Clayton & Karey Foster 26 - Don & Wandnetta Karl 29 Todd & Dawn Schoenherr 30- Sam & Tammy Draper 31 - Tim & Brenda Garrigan 6 7