NEWSLETTER. ELEVA LUTHERAN CHURCH South 2nd Street Eleva, WI 54738

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NEWSLETTER. ELEVA LUTHERAN CHURCH South 2nd Street Eleva, WI 54738

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CROSS ROADS NEWSLETTER ELEVA LUTHERAN CHURCH 50553 South 2nd Street Eleva, WI 54738 715-287-4231 Pastor Bob Castro December 2017

CROSS+ROADS NEWSLETTER December 2017 ELEVA LUTHERAN CHURCH elevalc@triwest.net Webpage elevalc.org Office 715-287-4231 Hours: 8-1 Monday Thursday Dial-up Worship 715-287-4137 Pastor Bob Home: 715-287-3351 Pastor Bob Cell: 920-382-6424 Pastor Bob Email bcastro@tcc.coop Or lauva1956@gmail.com Council President Jon Zander 608-606-1213 Vice President Kris Monson 715-695-3676 Secretary Mary Berg 715-287-4239 Trustees: Dianne Nichols Paul Olsen JoAnn Adams Bill Smith Dick Evenson Deacons: Sandy Wathke Inez Semingson John Nelson Jesse Franck Jodi Mai ELCW President Vonnie Olson Sunday School Superintendent Kelly Tollefson-Oium From the lion s den Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29: 18 KJV Then the LORD answered me and said, Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. Habakkuk 2:2 Dear Friends in Christ and Fellow Ministers, Last spring Jon Zander, our president, and I attended our Synod Assembly together. During his Bishop s report, our Bishop asked two pointed questions. He said, Turn to your pastor and ask if your congregation has a vision statement. Then, ask your pastor what your vision statement has to say to the 10-year old in your congregation. (Jon didn t need to ask me, because he and I had recently spoken about this.) His point was that we are losing our young people in the church. One important way to address that is to ask how our children view the church as they are growing up in it. Do the people in leadership truly care about them and their participation in the life of the congregation? Are the people in the pews willing to make decisions to concretely demonstrate that concern? Our Bishop pointed out that what we have as a vision statement is one of the concrete ways to move forward with our children in mind. On the last weekend of September, our Council gathered in retreat at Luther Park to work together on seeking God for God s vision for our church family. This is very important, because it was a crucial step to do more than share our hopes (although that is certainly a part of the process), but to seek God to provide direction for where God wants us to be aiming God s destination. Jon Zander arranged an excellent leadership coach to work with us in the process. I am very happy with the result we achieved together. Our proposed Vision Statement was presented to Council as a whole at our October meeting. 2

It was carefully reviewed and discussed. At our November meeting the Vision Statement was adopted as our best sense of where God is leading our congregation in the near future. I have attached the Vision Statement to my column, and will be posting it in future newsletters as well as our website. This Advent I am preaching a sermon series on the candles of Advent: Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. You know that HOPE is a topic near and dear to my heart, and infusing our young people with real hope is a pillar of my ministry here. I believe that this Vision Statement does demonstrate to our youth and their parents that they are an essential part of where we are going together as we follow Jesus. It shows that we want and need them to make the journey with us. We have begun the process of incorporating multi / cross generational events into our church family life to lift up opportunities to walk with Jesus together. But a vision statement is not the end of a journey. It is the beginning. Part of discipleship, becoming students and followers of Jesus, is to grow into the vision that God has for our life together. As we enter this new Church Year together, the principle is true and worthy of being reminded. Like the spokes of a wheel, the closer we draw to Jesus, the Center, the closer we draw to each other. Now may God who is the fountain of Hope, fill you with all Joy and Peace, as you continue to Believe and Trust, that you may always be filled with Hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit in you. Amen. (Paraphrase of Romans 15: 13) Yours and His, but not in that order, Pastor Bob A SERIES OF SERMON SERIES On October 29th, Reformation Sunday, I began the first of three Sunday sermon series. From October 29th through November I preached on Martin Luther s Five Solas : Scripture alone; Faith alone; Grace alone; for God s glory alone; and Christ alone. Then, beginning this Sunday for Advent, I will be preaching a sermon series on the meaning of the four Advent candles: Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. Following Christmas, in January, I will be sharing a sermon series on the FAITH5 devotion system for family devotions before bedtime: share, read, talk, pray, bless. These are the three Sunday morning sermon series. With the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, we will be doing a series for our Wednesday evening services on angels of the Bible: Angels from the Realms of Glory. I hope that you will find these series interesting, engaging and enlightening. 3

ELEVA LUTHERAN CHURCH VISION STATEMENT We are becoming a thriving church community where people of all ages are excited, enthusiastic, and engaged by our worship, our ed- ucation, and our opportunities for connection to God and each other. And we are: Growing in participation by all generations in worship and the life of the church; Growing in service to the Eleva community as a part of who we are in Christ; Growing in service outside our immediate community in ministry within our nation and beyond; Growing in variety of worship that is both engaging and accessible to all generations; Growing in our willingness to embrace change to reach out to our community with the love and grace of God; Growing in our commitment to share the hope that we have in Jesus Christ with the children God has placed in our care, and in encouraging and developing a life-long relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in all those within our church family and our circle of care; and Growing in our understanding and appreciation of the gifts given by God to each of us for service and ministry, and in our commitment to share our gifts with others to advance Christ s kingdom of love on earth. 4

We would like to again decorate the church with poinsettias for our Christmas service. The cost per plant is $11.00. If you would like to provide one or more, please contact the church office by December 18. Plants may be taken home anytime following Christmas Day worship. Please indicate in whose honor or memory the plant is given. Thank you! (number of plants) x $11.00 = In Memory of: In Honor of: Your Name: Phone Number: The annual Sunday School Christmas program will be December 17 at 10:30 a.m. All ages in Sunday School will be presenting the birth of Jesus with song and story. Practice for this program will also include Saturday, December 16 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Following the practice there will be a lunch and then the youth will be going out caroling to our elderly/shut in members of the congregation. If you would like them to stop by your home, you are encouraged to call and let Kelly know you would like them to stop. Kelly Tollefson-Oium can be reached at 715-287-4412 ext. 2313. CHRISTMAS SERVICES Little Christmas Eve is a special and long held tradition of just getting to sing the songs of Christmas! It is a church family time around the hymnbook and a time of peace and joy. December 23 at 7:00 p.m. Christmas eve candle light service is a wonderful service of light and peace. It reminds us of the light of Christ shining in the darkness. December 24 at 4:00 p.m. Since Christmas Eve is on a Sunday, there will be no 9:00 a.m. service that day. Christmas Day is a peaceful service of holy communion in which we gather around the great mystery of God coming to us in Jesus. This comes to us personally as we receive our Lord Christ beneath the bread and wine. December 25 at 9:00 a.m. 5

ARE YOU INTESTED IN LEARNING TO PLAY GUITAR? Did you know that our new guitar player, Adam Thoms, teaches guitar lessons at Morgan Music in Eau Claire? If you have been considering taking up guitar, you can contact Morgan Music and arrange with lessons through Adam. CHRISTMAS FROM THE HEART Christmas is right around the corner! Debbie Wright will once again ask for donations for toys and presents for the needy children of our area. So many more children than we know, need a Christmas gift to make their Christmas a more joyful time in their tiny lives. A Gift Box is in the narthex for contributions. Please give freely to this wonderful cause. Because of people like you, last year several families in the area that would not have had anything for Christmas were given toys, boots, hats, mittens and coats. Thanking you all in advance and wishing you and your family a very joyful and blessed Christmas. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS SO FAR!! ALSO A BIG THANK YOU TO THE MEN S GROUP FOR HELPING SO GENEROUSLY WITH THIS GREAT CAUSE!! Debbie Wright XANDER JON LARSON the son of Aaron and Jennifer Larson was baptized on October 30, 2017. Xander was born on October 3, 2017 at Mayo in Eau Claire. Sponsors for Xander will be Jon Wright, Sarah Larson, and Jill Moore. BRIAR EVE EMERSON was baptized on November 5, 2017. Briar is the daughter of Timothy and Tessa Emerson. She was born in Eau Claire on June 3, 2017. Briar s sponsors are Sadie Rustad, Cory Gullicksrud, Trent Emerson, and Anne Enos. May God bless our newest members of Eleva and their families. CELEBRATION CORNER By Pastor Bob This is something new I m adding to our newsletter. It is a place where we can list celebrations such as milestones or accomplishments. This is your section. Feel free to call or email Nancy with your celebration information, and she will put it here in the newsletter. 6

Eleva Lutheran s Community Dinner will be Sunday, December 3 from 5 to 6. Menu for December is: Ham, Baked Potato Bar (toppings: butter, cheese, onions, sour cream, bacon bits), broccoli, rolls, dessert, mild, and coffee.. Dessert is donated from Diane Hillestad. Thank you in advance for continuing to support the Community Dinners. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. January s dinner is scheduled for January 7. The Community Dinners Committee Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14b A Christmas Message from Bishop Hoyme Dear Frie ds of the North est S od of Wis o si, The ear as 1 6 a d it as a eautiful De e er or i g i our e ho e i Mi esota. We had re e tl o ed a d I as prepari g Christ as E e essage for e o gregatio. But I as ha i g diffi ult fo usi g o the task at ha d. Ea h ti e I atte pted to pe rele a t a d i pressi e thoughts, e es ere di erted to a photo o desk; a photo of a a ith thi k dark hair a d deep ro e es. Although e had e er et, she had ee a ed a d she as lo ed. Her a e as Laura a d Luthera So ial Ser i es had assured us that she ould soo e o a pla e that ould fl her fro Seoul, South Korea to the Mi eapolis airport a d the i to our ar s. But for o, she as i a ri i a orpha age i a fara a la d. A d that ade e sad I as sad e ause this little o e ould spe d her first Christ as alo e or as alo e as o e a e i a roo filled ith ri s. But she ould ot e held i the ar s of lo i g pare ts a d surrou ded ith gifts. A d that as sad. A d it ade e feel alo e. But I had a ser o to rite so a k to the ords i Bi le a d a k to the stor the told. I a uel - God ith us. This ord is first ritte i the ook of Isaiah a d the agai i the Gospel of Matthe. Both ti es it is ritte as a pro ise that God ill e ith us, a d God ill e er lea e us. It is a pro ise that a a ill o e da e or a d that a ill fulfill the pro ise of God s prese e ith God s people. Oh good ess ould this e true? Could God s pro ise ot e a a ie t o e, ut o e that as ei g fulfilled, e e as I atte pted to rite a essage of hope to e people? Is God reall ith us? Her first Christ as; rapped i loths a d l i g i a hard otto ed ri i the e ter of a fara a orpha age. A d God is ith her. God had k it her together i her other s o, a d God ould e er lea e her. A d her a e as Laura. A d she as a hild of God. I re e er this eautiful De e er or i g ofte. I re e er it he I a feeli g alo e. I re e er it e ause I eed to elie e that God is ith e. A d that God ill e er lea e e. A d I elie e it. This ill e last Christ as essage to ou as our ishop. Ne t ear at this ti e, ou ill read ords fro a e ishop ut the pro ise ill ot ha ge. God is ith ou. His a e is I a uel a d the pro ise is real. Ha e a lessed Christ as a d go to hur h! God ill e there! Rev. Richard Hoyme 7

On Monday, November 27 the trees were brought down out of storage and the Christmas Advent season was decorated in full force! Thank you to all who came that day and helped with this project...now there is more to do! Sunday, December 3 as part of our multi-generation Sunday School project, we are having the 6th and 7th graders complete the decorating. We ask that any parent that would like to participate come right along with their student. If anyone has any new ideas, please feel free to let those ide- as known! The trees will have to be decorated, the Nativity scene will be arranged, the Charlie Brown trees could be used, the ledge and the windows in the narthex have to be decorated, and the Maravian star has to fine a spot. It will be fun and it will make our church festive for the Christmas season. Thank you to everyone that donated money to our Bake-less bake sale for our Sunday school youth group. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and will be used to defer costs of future youth events. If anyone is still interested in donating, donations can be left in the Sunday school office. The children and I thank you! Kell Dear Friends in Christ, Our regular meeting will be at Connie Pedersen s home on Thursday, December 14 at 1:00 p.m. We appreciate her hosting us for this special meeting and seeing her special decorations. Plan to be there! Your reservations for the Senior Citizen s appreciation dinner on Friday, December 1 at 11:00 a.m. should be turned in by now. We thank Connie for her Thrivent Financial action team check and to Jeff Becker for the donation of the meat. Such generosity is wonderful! Please remember to bring special baking for our fellowship following our Little Christmas Eve service. Mmmmmmm! May the Blessings of the season be with you and yours now and in the future! Your servant in Him ~ Vo ie 8

FALL HARVEST DINNER, NOVEMBER 12, 2017 Saturday morning! Tony Tollefson, Otay Tollefson, Dennis Hillestad, Gary Hillestad, Josh Pedersen, Andy Pedersen, Don Christ, Larry Engen (hiding in the background) and Bob Teigen. All were hard working getting ready for the annual Harvest Dinner on Sunday, November 12. Over 200 were served and left with full tummies. Pictured below are: Norm Dodge, Kevin Aiona, Rick Engen, Michael Lueoff, Bob Teigen, Larry Engen, Dennis Hillestad, Gary Hillestad, Don Christ, Josh Pedersen, and Dennis Barneson. LUTEFISK AND MEATBALLS! Mashed Potatoes Rutabagas Corn Lefsa Pie and Cookies All add up to another successful Fall Harvest Dinner put on by the Men s group of Eleva Lutheran! Thank you to everyone that worked, donated, and ate! It was a great day! Looks a lot like KP duty would you agree Michael? 9

Eleva Lutheran s 49th Annual Little Christmas Eve Service December 23rd 2017 Our 40th annual Little Christmas Eve service, Celebrate Him! will be held on Saturday, December 23rd at 7:00 pm. This is the perfect time for friends and family to gather together to hear the message of the Christmas miracle as it is told through music. In our church history book Mariann Berg wrote, For several years on December 23rd, which is Little Yule Aften (Little Christmas Eve), our choirs present our favorite service of the Christmas season. We honor our Scandinavian heritage by remembrance of the Old Country singing I Am So Glad and other precious carols, march around the Christmas tree with candles and then have coffee and Christmas baking. This event was a special service which Pastor Clifford Pederson introduced and we continue. Over the years we have continued to observe many of these traditions. In addition, we have added some new traditions. We no longer march around the Christmas tree with candles but we do have a special Service of Candles in which the choirs spread the light of Christ throughout the church. Members of Partners In Praise, New Sounds, and the Klinge Kor are looking forward to sharing their music with you. The choir members have been busy working on A Carol Fantasia. A Carol Fantasia is an exuberant celebration of traditional carols alive with the joy and wonder of the Christmas season. This piece of music will involve congregational singing and a bell choir made up of members of the congregation s youth. Thank you to the Berg family for purchasing this music in memory of Mariann Berg. In addition to music by the choirs special music will be provided by other members of our congregation. You ll hear some of you favorite songs like What Child Is This, Mary s Boy Child, Birthday of a King, Mary Did You Know, and more. Dianne Nichols will also share a poem with us. Don t forget to mark your calendars. It is certain to be a service you won t want to miss! The prelude will begin at 6:30 pm. Please come early, sit back and relax, and enjoy the holiday music before the service. Jody Sandberg The Sunday School Children will sing at the Little Christmas Eve Service on December 23. Please have you child(ren) at the church by 6:30 p.m. Volunteers are needed to play music during the prelude on Little Christmas Eve December 23. We are looking for instrumentalists to play piano solos, etc. during the prelude. The prelude will begin about 6:30 p.m.. If you are interested, please contact Jody Sandberg or Annette Forthun prior to December 6. 10

Betty Johnson, Stewardship Secretary Our next stewardship get together will be Tuesday, January 30, 2018! We will meet at 9:00 to 1:00 p.m. and have a potluck afterwards. Sue Rotvold, Jane Enos, Vivian Hayden, Mae Benedict, Gen Pederson, Betty Johnson, and Sharon Hazen. Our Stewardship Quilter ladies. This picture does not include all that participate, only the ones that were there last session. We thank them all for the great work they do! We also thank Thrivent Financial for helping with the shipping of the quilts to our adopted domestic violence shelter in Putman County Florida. Our quilts were shipped to Shandra Riffey s home in Palm Coast, Florida. I asked why they were not shipped directly to the shelter and Shandra informed me that was because the shelter has no address. This is for safety reasons as the women that come there are leaving a terrible situation and do not want to be found. So Shandra and Martin Kvam loaded up the boxes and took them personally over to the shelter. Shown below are the staff from Lee Conlee House admiring and loving the new quilts. Shandra Riffey, is pictured front row, left hand side. Posting from Shandra s FaceBook reads as follows: So Blessed to have the Eleva Lutheran Stewardship Quilters share warmth and love to participants at Lee Conlee House Shelter. All the way from Eleva, Wisconsin. A special thank you to my sister, Nancy Hansen for helping in making this happen. Thank you from all of us at Lee Conlee House, Palatka, Florida!! Special thanks go the Thrivent Financial for helping with the shipping of these quilts with a $250.00 debit card. We also thank Ky Kvam, Fed-X World Wide Account Manager, for setting us up with an account to ship the quilts. They say It takes a village and it seems that some projects do. But it has been so much fun and such a great mission project!! We thank everyone involved. If you would like to join the quilters please come the last Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m. 11

I hope you are enjoying the twiddlemuff project as much as I am. It is so forgiving if you make a mistake and a great project for in front of the TV. Due to busy schedules and potential inclement weather, we will not meet as a group at the church during the winter months. Please continue to work on your projects and we will together at church again in spring. Thank you in advance for helping people who will benefit from the twiddlemuff. Knitting Directions: Materials needed: A selection of leftover balls of yarn. 8mm circular or 6.5mm straight needles. Various trinket for decorating. Cuff: Cast on 45 stitches using 2 strands of double knitting yard or 1 strand of chunky yarn (one Plain color works best). Work in stocking stitch (knit a row, purl a row) for 11 inches. Muff body: Continue with stocking stitch, but use up leftover yarns of various textures such as chunky, mohair, ribbon, etc. until the work measures 23 inches (two strand of double knit for two rows each gives a lively assortment of colors). Cast off Finishing: Neatly join the sides together using an edge to edge stitch (with the knit side facing out). Turn inside out and push the one color cuff up inside the muff body. Sew the two ends together, again using a neat edge to edge stitch. Decoration: Now you can decorate the muff, inside and out with ribbons, beads, plastic flowers, zips, loops, pompoms, etc. Knit a separate pocket for a favorite photo or a hanky be creative, but make sure each item is securely attached. Crochet Directions: To crochet a Twiddlemuff using double knitting (DK) yarn (that is yarn that recommends the use of a 4mm knitting needles) use a 6mm hook and whatever stitch you fancy with about 40 stitches to the row. Add textured stitches such as bobbles or thread beads and buttons onto your yarn and crochet them in as go or add them when you re finished. When starting a new ball of yar, knot the ends together. This will add an extra bit of fluff for twiddling. When you have finished, sew or tie on your bits and bobs on one side only. Fold in half and sew the top edge to the bottom edge. Then fold in half and sew again and you are done. Knitting and Crochet group meets the first Saturday of the month. Due to busy schedules and potential inclement weather, we will not meet as a group at the church during the winter months. Please continue to work on your projects and we will together at church again in spring. Anita Castro 12

CHECKING/SAVINGS OCTOBER 2017 Here are the facts and nothing but the facts: General account: Deposits: $ 18,197.17 Expenses: $ 16,558.42 Missions account Deposits: $ 889.49 Expenses: $ 60.00 (There are many openings available on the pastor s door for mission work. Remember a loved one today...sign up.) Balances of all accounts: Building: $ Pastors Youth Fund: Local Missions Fund: Seminary Fund: Halvorson Perpetual: Memorial Fund: Altar Guild Fund: Latvia Mission Fund: Me G u Organ Fund Genesis Youth 7,388.10 690.67 2,277.06 3.56 632.86 1,851.94 296.86 890.48 1,430.31 252.29 3,027.14 Loan with united bank is $ 24,826.00 Jon Zander will be placing an order for Eleva Lutheran Sweatshirts and Tee Shirts soon. If you would like one, please contact Jon or the Office to place your order! Sweatshirts are: $15.00, Tee Shirts are 10.00, Hoodies are 20.00. 13

Eleva Lutheran Church council minutes The November 20, 2017 meeting of the Eleva Lutheran Church Council was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by President Jon Zander. Present: President Jon Zander, Vice-President Kris Monson, Secretary Mary Berg. Trustees: Dianne Nichols, Paul Olsen, JoAnn Adams, Bill Smith and Dick Evenson Deacons: Inez Semingson, John Nelson, Jessica Franck and Jodi Mai ELCW President: Vonnie Olson Jodi Mai read opening devotions. Kris Monson made a motion to approve the October 2, 2017 council meeting minutes. Motion seconded by Paul Olsen. Motion carried. Dick Evenson made a motion, seconded by Paul Olsen, to approve the treasurer s report. Motion carried. PASTOR S REPORT: Pastor Castro is not able to attend the council meeting this month because of the Alpha Course schedule. The council members read, reviewed and discussed Pastor Castro s written report. REPORTS: Vonnie Olson reported that the ELCW will be hosting the Senior Appreciation Dinner on December 1 st and will be providing Christmas treats for the December 23 rd Little Christmas Eve service.. ELCM had a successful lutefisk dinner and will be meeting in December. Jessica Franck advised the next Cross Generation Sunday School event is scheduled for January 7, 2018. Jessica Franck also suggested that the traditional version of the Lord s Prayer, which the Sunday School children are learning, be used at the second Sunday worship service when the children sing. The Worship Committee reported that will be no morning worship service at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 24 th. A possible youth group leader is being worked on. OLD BUSINESS: The council reviewed the draft of the Eleva Lutheran Church vision statement. A motion was made by Kris Monson, seconded by Dick Evenson, to accept the vision statement draft with no changes. A motion was made by Paul Olsen, seconded by Inez Semingson, that the constitution changes be tabled until the December, 2017 council meeting. Motion carried. An email was received regarding the family/children friendly worship pray ground area in the sanctuary. The email suggested rather than putting the children in a box in the back of the sanctuary it would perhaps be better if the area was in the front of the sanctuary so the children can see what is going on and be aware of the activities during the worship service. After discussion, Bill Smith rescinded his motion regarding the family/children friendly worship pray ground made at the October 2, 2017 council meeting. An amended motion was made by Dick Evenson to remove two front full pews on the west side of the sanctuary to create the family/children worship pray ground area on a trial basis by December 1 st and also to remove one front full pew on the east side which will help to eliminate the communion Sunday congestion on the east side. Jessica Franck seconded the motion. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS: The council requested Larry Peterson to get quotes for the replacement of self locking door handles on all the outside doors like the east doors have. A motion was made by Paul Olsen, seconded by Vonnie Olson, that the worship service loose offerings be used to pay on the debt fund at United Bank. The elevator situation was discussed and an elevator fund will be started. OPEN DISCUSSION: The 125th Anniversary of Eleva Lutheran Church is scheduled for May 6, 2018 and plans are being worked on. President Zander reported on a couple of new outreach projects he would like to see implemented for Eleva Lutheran. A motion was made by Dianne Nichols, seconded by Vonnie Olson, to adjourn at 7:55 p.m. Motion carried. We closed with The Lord s Prayer. Our next council meeting is scheduled for December 4, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. with John Nelson giving devotions. Respectfully Submitted, Mary Berg Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 14

CROSS+ROADS COMMUNIQUE 2017 December 23: Little Christmas Eve Service 7:00 p.m. December 24: Christmas Eve Service 4:00 p.m. (No 9:00 a.m. service) December 25: Christmas Day Service 9:00 a.m. January 14: New Sounds January 21: Ad Hoc January 28: Messengers February 11: New Sounds February 25: Messengers March 11: New Sounds March 25: Messengers April 8: New Sounds April 22: Messengers April 29: Ad Hoc May 13: Mother s Day May 13: New Sounds May 27: Messengers If you have an event to list in the Cross+Roads Communique` please call Nancy at the Church Office at 715-287-4231 prior to the Cross+Roads deadline. Thank you! Pastor Bob s Email bcastro@tcc.coop The Eleva Lutheran Prayer Chain is available for anyone that would like to have a prayer said in strong faith with our Eleva Women. Please call Vonnie Olson at 715-287-4223 to make your request. Prayer is a powerful thing and these ladies have been serving Eleva Lutheran for many years with thousands of prayers. Keep the Prayer Patrol working for our families. They do such a great job. Thank you. MISSION STATEMENT "We are a community of believers called and inspired by Christ's love, sharing God's gifts through worship, teaching, service, and fellowship. We seek with joy God's vision of uniting all people in Christ through faith." 15

DECEMBER 2017 Sun 3 Holy Communion Worship 9:00 a.m. Sunday School 10:15 am Mon 4 Church Council Meeting 6:30 p.m. 5 Pastors Text Study 9:30 a.m. Wed 6 Klinge Kor Practice 6:15 Choir 7:30 p.m. Confirmation 8th 3:45 pm Confirmation 9th 7:00 pm 10 Worship Service 9:00 a.m. Sunday School 10:15 am Messengers Play 11 17 Worship Service 9:00 Sunday School Christmas Program 10:30 a.m. 18 12 Pastors Text Study 9:30 a.m. Osseo Thu 7 Sat 1 Senior Appreciation Dinner 11:00 a.m. 2 Alpha Retreat at Luther Park 8 9 Step Group 7:00 p.m. 14 ELCW meeting at Connie Pedersen s home at 1:00 p.m. 19 Cross+Roads Deadline Pastors Text Study 9:30 a.m. Osseo 20 Klinge Kor Practice 6:15 Choir 7:30 p.m. Confirmation 8th 3:45 pm 26 Pastors Text Study 9:30 a.m. Osseo 27 Klinge Kor Practice 6:15 Choir 7:30 p.m. Confirmation 8th 3:45 pm Confirmation 9th 7:00 13 Fri Youth Road Trip to AMC Cinema Charity Circle at Connie Pedersen s home. 1:00 p.m. Klinge Kor Practice 6:15 Choir 7:30 p.m. Confirmation 8th 3:45 pm Men s Group 6:30 24 Christmas Eve Service 25 At 4:30 p.m. Christmas Day No 9:00 a.m. Service Service 9:00 a.m. 31 Happy New Year s Eve! Worship at 9:00 am Tue 15 16 Sunday School Christmas program practice 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Lunch and caroling to follow 21 Lydia circle at Mary Berg s home at 7:00 p.m. Step Group 7:00 p.m. 22 23 Little Christmas Eve Music Service Service 7:00 p.m. 28 Step Group 7:00 p.m. 29 30 Step Group 7:00 p.m.