The Trumpet. From the Pastor s Heart

Transcription

1 The Trumpet Volume 15, Issue 12 A Monthly Publication of Christ the King Lutheran Church December 2015 From the Pastor s Heart This Advent, we will continue to use the Narrative Lectionary after taking a few weeks off in November for All Saints, Stewardship and Christ the King Sundays. This Advent, we explore how we prepare for God to meet us in the person of Jesus Christ as a young baby, lying in a manger, whose purpose will lead him to the cross and who we wait impatiently to come again and bring true peace to all. 11/29, 1 st Sunday in Advent Psalm 19:7-14, 2 Kings 22:1-10; 23:1-3 We ll hear about how young King Josiah recovered Scripture that had been lost, and how this moved the people to reform and renewal. As we prepare for Christmas, what are we digging out of our long-lost closets? What do we need to find in our hearts that we ve lost? 12/6: 2 nd Sunday in Advent (traditional service with communion) Psalm 85:4 13, Isaiah 40:1-11 We ll hear the voice in the wilderness cry out, Comfort, comfort, O my people, make straight the way of the Lord! On the outside, we busily prepare our homes with decorations, yet inside, we long for God s comfort and peace. 12/13: 3 rd Sunday in Advent (praise service) Psalm 102:12-22, Ezra 1:1-4, 3:1-4, We ll hear about the return from exile and the rebuilding of the temple. During the holidays, we sometimes long to return home, but are we ever really home? Our true home is found in God. Fools for Christ members will do a dramatic reading of our Ezra reading in worship. 12/20: 4 th Sunday in Advent (traditional with communion) CHRISTMAS PROGRAM Psalm 113, Luke 1:5-13, We ll explore Christmas traditions from around the world. 12/24: Christmas Eve services: 4:00pm Live Nativity A communion service for the entire family. It concludes with candlelight and a live nativity. 10:30pm Candlelight Service A contemplative worship service that draws us closer to the birth of Christ. Candlelight and Holy center us on the celebration of Christ s arrival. December 25: No worship services. Enjoy the day with family and friends! MERRY CHRISTMAS! December 27: A lessons and carols service to welcome in the New Year. Have a blessed Advent season! Pastor Jennifer.

2 WORSHIP & LEARNING November Pastoral Acts 11/01: Alison Marie West Baptism 11/15: Cooper Henry Lichtscheidl Baptism 11/22: Victoria Rose Hedeen Baptism 11/29: Savannah Grace Berry Baptism Fools for Christ, a joint drama group with members from both St. Stephen Lutheran Church and CTK, will be sharing a dramatic reading of the Scripture in worship on Sunday, December 13. If you re interested in learning more about Fools for Christ, please contact the church office or Scott Freburg. Pastor Jen s Sabbatical Corner Hedeen Baptism Sandy (Rainie) Wallace s memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 12 at Christ the King. There will be a visitation at church starting at 10am and the service will be at 11am. A luncheon will follow. Mike and family thank you all for your prayers and presence during this difficult time. A Special Gift For CTK On November 8, 2015 we received some sculptures from artist, Ron Felt; a statue of Christ the King and two angels. We had an art dedication and an adult forum conducted by Ron. On Saturday, November 14 Ron borrowed the sculptures to enter them in an art exhibit called the Great Commission and took first place. Ron wrote, The value of our sculpture just increased! Many thanks to Ron for sharing his God given talents with Christ the King Lutheran Church! Sabbatical Dates: Late May-Late August, 2016 Team members: Pastor Jen, Ron Pierskalla, Beth Tradup, Tom Sandhei, Bill Ferguson What we re working on: The Sabbatical Team is currently: Visiting potential venues for the Welcome Back Dinner on 8/28/16 Identifying potential fill-in pastors to interview Recruiting 3 special speakers for worship (one Sunday/month during sabbatical) Confirming contracts for congregational retreat on October 8-9, 2016 Mark Your Calendars! Sunday, 8/28 *2016*: Congregational Welcome Back Dinner October 8-9, *2016*: Congregational Retreat December 2015 Page 2

3 F.Y.I. Please Sign Up for the Progressive Dinner Thank you for your financial gifts! Stewardship Sunday was November 15. If you re planning to give CTK an estimate of your giving (or pledge) for 2016, you may turn in your card on a Sunday (extra pledge cards are available in the sanctuary), mail it or drop it by the church, or contact Scott Freburg at finance@ctkwbl.org with your pledge amount. Our goal is to have all pledges in by the end of November. As always, your gifts are welcome and make a difference however you choose to share them. Thank you for generously supporting CTK out of the blessings you ve received from God. The annual progressive dinner will be held on Saturday, December 5, at 6:00 pm. We ll start with appetizers at church, and then move on in smaller groups to host homes where a lasagna dinner will be served. We ll conclude the evening back at church for dessert and coffee. This is a fun holiday tradition that you won t want to miss! Please sign up on the poster in the Narthex to indicate whether you ll bring an appetizer or dessert, and also whether you can volunteer to be a host home. Hospitality & Kitchen Committee Schedules 2016 A special thanks to the many, many volunteers who keep the coffee hot, serve the cookies on Sunday morning, bake the bars and serve the luncheons for funerals held at Christ the King. The schedules for 2016 are now complete with 36 families participating in this ministry. We are blessed to have so many willing workers! 2015 Angel Tree Gifts will support Solid Ground Solid Ground helps homeless families achieve and maintain housing stability, and to secure permanent housing when they leave our program. Programs provide housing for homeless families and serve 300 individuals each year in suburban Ramsey and Washington Counties. GIFT TAGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE IN THE SANCTUARY. This year CTK will be receiving new, unwrapped gifts with your tags attached. Gifts can be placed under the tree or brought to the church office between Nov. 29 and Dec. 13. We will keep them in a safe spot until delivery on Tues., Dec. 15. Contact Jennifer Sivertson with any questions at or sivertjen@hotmail.com. December 2015 Page 3

4 Sunday School CHILDREN & YOUTH December 6 th Hannah & Samuel, & Christmas Program Preparation December 13 th Large Group Christmas Program Rehearsal in Sanctuary December 19 th Large Group Christmas Program Rehearsal (Sat. 9-11:30 am) December 20 th CHRISTMAS PROGRAM (meet in Youth Room by 8:20 am) November 27 th NO Sunday School (Christmas Break) 3 rd NO Sunday School (Christmas Break) 10 th Joseph & His Brothers 17 th Music Station Leader Joseph & His Brothers needed in! 24 h Joseph & His Brothers 31 st NO Sunday school (annual meeting) Only 10 more station leader spots need to be filled for the Sunday School year to be fully staffed! We would love to have all of these spots filled before Lent begins in February. If you re interested, check out the table outside Laura s office where you can find the sign-up and more information about these fun, faith-filled activities that deeply impact the lives of our young ones here at CTK! Confirmation & December 2nd Family Class & Youth Group December 9th Confirmation Class & Youth Group December 16th Christmas Party Grades 6-12 December 23rd No Class or youth group (Christmas Break) December 30th - No Class or Youth Group (Christmas Break) 6th - Family Class & Youth Group meets The Christmas Program is upon us! Please watch your mail for more details related to this fun, annual event! We will be singing a song with the (adult) King s Choir for the Christmas Program so we will sing through this piece on December 6 and 13 at the beginning of Sunday School. We ll meet in the sanctuary as we normally do, then we ll go to the correct location for rehearsal. Normal Sunday School will meet on Dec. 6 and the rest of large group rehearsal will follow with a complete sing-through on the 13th. Please try to make it to both large group rehearsals on the 13th and 19th. If your family is unable to make it, please let Laura Gorton or Sheila Kent know about this. 13th - Confirmation Class & Youth Group 20th - Confirmation Class & Youth Group 27th - No Confirmation Youth Group does meet 6:30 pm Due to low number of deposits, our mission trip to Wind River has been postponed. Keep your eyes and ears open to future announcements about a summer youth trip. December 2015 Page 4

5 MISSIONS AND SOCIAL CONCERNS Masisiwe Student Scholarship Update Good News! As of November 22nd we are able to send $4,754 for Masisiwe student scholarships. We have commitments for over $1,000 additional funds. Thanks to all the individuals, families and groups that are willing to sponsor a child from Masisiwe in We know there is a long waiting list. The new term starts in. Please pray for these children as they leave home to further their education and begin a new chapter in their lives. Saturday Morning Bread Ministry Pick up bread each Saturday at 7:00 am from Cub Foods on Rice Street to share with friends and neighbors! More instructions are available on the kiosk! Don t forget! Gift Tags are available on our Sanctuary Angel Trees! Your gifts will benefit children in transition to permanent housing. For more information about the agency go to: solidgroundmn.org 2nd Harvest Tuesday, Dec. 15 5:30-7:30 PM Packing Food for Minnesota Families 1140 Gervais Ave Maplewood, MN CTK Coordinator - Sue Kohler Please sign up on the kiosk if you can help with any of these on-going, service projects. Family Shelter Tuesday, Dec. 22 5:00-7:15 PM Serving a Meal to Homeless Families Contact Mike for Directions CTK Coordinator - Mike Wallace or IMMAVEN120@aol.com Thank You to the following people who served at Family Shelter for November: Patti Rund, Polly Morrison Sue Kohler & daughter Emily Kohiek Lois & Tom Johnson, Mike Wallace The SPOT (Sober Place of Teaching) is a community outreach faith based, non-profit, addiction recovery program for those in the community who struggle with how addiction affects their faith. SPOT uses a combination of traditional rehabilitation alongside a spiritual approach to recovery. A Sober Place of Teaching Meeting Thursdays at CTK 6:30-8:30 pm For more information contact: Britney Engler Noah Trebesh Barbara Engler thespotatctk@yahoo.com December 2015 Page 5

6 29 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat NTF /Baptism Sunday School 10:15 A Cherubs Rehearse 6 Traditional Sunday School 10:15 A Cherubs Rehearse 13 Praise Fools for Christ Sunday School 10:15 A Cherubs Rehearse Angel Tree Gifts Deadline 20 ADVENT 1 ADVENT 2 ADVENT 3 ADVENT 4 Christmas Around the World Program 9:00 am 30 7 Worship Team 7 P nd Harvest 5:30-7:30 P Admin./Finance 7 P 22 December 2015 Confirmation Family Class & Bell Choir Confirmation & Bell Choir 16 Grades 6-12 Christmas Party Bell Choir Property Team 7P 17 Fellowship Team 7P :00 P Sandy Wallace Memorial Svc. Visitation 10 am Service 11 am Luncheon Cookie Reception 27 Council Mtg. 28 Family Shelter 5:00-7:15 P Bell Choir Christmas Eve Worship 4:00 pm & 10:30 pm Merry Christmas 1 2 Lessons & Carols Pastor Jen s Vacation Traditional Confirmation & Bell Choir Property Team 7P December 2015 Page 6

7 T h e T r u m p e t Christ The King Lutheran Church 1660 Birch Lake Avenue White Bear Lake, MN Address Service Requested December 2015 Office Hours Beginning September 8th: Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri. 9:00 am-4:30 pm Connect Teach Keep Pastor Rev. Jennifer Hackbarth pastorjennifer@ctkwbl.org STAFF Director of Children & Youth Ministries Laura Gorton lauragorton@ctkwbl.org Organist Betsy Murray Office Manager Mary Roos office@ctkwbl.org Join us on Sundays Worship - 9:00 am Education Hour - 10:15 am During the school year. Lynette Campbell Children s Choir Elida Olson King s Choir Director Lynette Campbell Custodians Joe Johnson Kristen Jackelen Christ the King Lutheran Church 1660 Birch Lake Avenue, White Bear Lake, MN Phone: Fax: office@ctkwbl.org