Calvary Courier January 2018 A Publication of Calvary Lutheran Church, Moline, Illinois From the Pastor There is an ongoing disagreement in our family each year regarding which Christmas tree to put up colored lights or white lights. The down side to the colored lights is that the corner of the foyer with the tree seems dark. So, there was a discussion about how to add light to the tree to brighten up that corner. A lighted angel tree topper was the answer. That discussion led me to consider all the light in our lives which brightens up the occasional darkness. For me personally, there is abundant light in my life that comes from a variety of sources. Among the most important sources of light in my life is my family. I am forever grateful for Mary and our kids as they continuously bring joy to me. Along with the light of my immediate family, I am thankful, too, for the light that shines from my extended family. Also shining brightly in my life are my friends, both far and near. Their light is a true blessing to me. Likewise, I am thankful for the light of the people of God at Calvary and St. James. You all have been so kind to me and my family and a tremendous witness to the light of Christ as we have begun our ministry together. To listen to the beautiful music of the joint choir, to hear of people coming together for events and Bible study, and to witness the laughter and fellowship at the Christmas potluck have been times of brightness in my life these last few months. I am confident that together we will shine the light of Christ even more brightly in the time to come. Finally, and most importantly, I am thankful for the light of Christ that shines in the world and makes all life and love and joy possible. As the angel atop our Christmas tree brightens the dark corner of our home, may the light of the Child of Bethlehem shine brightly in your life this Christmas season and throughout the coming year. In Christ, Pastor Knowles CHRISTMAS SERVICES Please join us on Christmas Eve. Our regular worship service will be at 10:30 a.m. Then at 4:00 pm we will have our Candlelight service to Celebrate God s Greatest Gift to Us, the birth of His Son, Jesus. At 7:00 pm, St. James in Rock Island will have their Candlelight Christmas Eve service. 1
JANUARY BIRTHDAYS and ANNIVERSARIES Happy Birthday to: 1 Chelsea Levesque 4 John Mudd 7 Gordon Nelson 14 Rev. Don Knowles 16 Ann Donahue 18 Brianna Griebel 20 Sandy Ohrn 21 Pam Ohrn, Carl Lundstrom 23 Brent Behrens 31 Roy Woitte Happy Anniversary to: 7 Dale & Joyce Armstrong The Holiday Office Schedule for the week of December 26 Dec. 26 through Dec. 28, 2017 Please call the church office before you come to make sure Teri is in the office. Pastor Knowles will be on vacation from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1. For pastoral emergencies, please contact our Parish Nurse, Beck Maxon at 309-762-1511 or Pastor Witkowski at First Lutheran Church 309-764- 3517. Jan. 2, 2018 Tuesday Office Open 9:00 AM WELCA - All Calvary women are invited. Deborah Circle will not meet in January. Tuesday, February 6 will be our next meeting in the Upper Room. Hostesses will be Jan Jackson & Marilyn Mudd. HAPPY HOOKERS - will meet on January 28 th in Erlander Hall. The ANNUAL REPORT information is due in the church office by Sunday, December 31. You may either put your reports in my mailbox by the Upper room or you may email your reports to: secretary@calvarymoline.org. The ANNUAL MEETING will be held in Erlander Hall after worship on Jan. 28, 2018. During the month of December we received the following word of thanks. To Our Calvary Friends May life bring you many Blessings this Christmas Season. In lieu of Christmas cards, a donation has been made to Calvary Lutheran Church to the beautification fund. ---- Happy New Year, Dave & Annette Menke To my Calvary Friends, May your heart be filled with every joy this lovely season brings. ----- Joyeux Noël to you and your family, Gisele Richardson Many thanks to the Christmas Carolers and Happy Hookers for the visit and gift. It was very special. ---- Kathryn Beardsley We would like to thank you for the calls & cards we have received for well wishes. And especially to the Happy Hookers for the beautiful throws and to the carolers for the beautiful Christmas music and visit. Wishes for a Blessed Season to you all. ---- Bob & Beth Fuller I would like to thank you for the phone calls, flowers, cards and visits, especially Pastor Knowles. I would also like to thank the carolers for stopping by and singing to me. I miss seeing everyone. Have a Blessed Christmas. ----Betty Clark Thank you for sharing your talents with our students! We were able to distribute them to many of our students in kindergarten through third grade. Your kindness means a great deal to our school. ----Sharon Lantzlay Thank you for your gifts to ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response this years. Thanks to you, together we re working for justice and peace in the United States and more than 60 countries around the world. May God bless you this Christmas and always, even as you and your generosity are a blessing to others. ---With gratitude, The Rev. Daniel Rift., Dir., ELCA world Hunger & Disaster Appeal, ELCA 2
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED THE Christmas Potluck on Sunday, Dec. 17 th!!! The food was plentiful and delicious, and we enjoyed having our guests from St. James with us. Special thanks to everyone who brought cookies and to Joe Geerts for entertaining us with his wonderful guitar music and melodic voice. ********************************************************* HENRY STROMBERG has moved to Hope Creek 4343 Kennedy Drive, East Moline, IL 61244. ARLA OLSON moved on November 30 to Mesa Arizona. Her address is 2064 S Farnsworth Dr. #41, Mesa AZ 85209. ********************************************************* EPIPHANY DINNER St. James WELCA The WELCA women of St. James are planning the 2 nd Annual Epiphany dinner Saturday, January 6, 2018. All members of Calvary are invited to join us. Rev. Randy Willers, pastor of Salem Lutheran church in Moline, has graciously agreed to share his power point presentation on Martin Luther and the Reformation. His presentation will include pictures of his recent trip to Germany. The catered dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. and will include stuffed pork chops, a gratin potatoes, green beans, salad, rolls, dessert and beverages. The cost of the meal is $10 per person. Please call St. James at (309) 786-0503 if you would like to come. FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER DEADLINE is January 11 for distribution on January 25. Please have your articles to me on time as I will also be working on the annual report. You may email or put your articles in my box. LUNCH BUNCH Lunch Bunch will meet Tuesday, January 16 th at 11:00 a.m. It s a time for fellowship and good food shared with Calvary s members and invited friends, too. We plan interesting or entertaining programs. Please let us know if you need transportation by calling the church office we ll come and get you! We offer our sympathies and prayers to family and friends of Anita Walker. She passed away on November 1. Services were held at Calvary on November 6. We also offer our sympathies and prayers to family and friends of Rev. Bob Pearson. Rev. Bob passed away on December 9. Services were held at Calvary on December 15. We also offer our sympathies and prayers to Bishop Jeff Clements and Pastor Brant Clements on the death of their mother on Dec. 16. May each of you find refuge and comfort in our Lord, Jesus Christ. CAFÉ January 13 at 9:30 a.m. Moline Public Library Café, 3210 41 st Street, Moline, IL Sponsored by St. James WELCA Please join us for a cup of coffee, tea, and maybe a pastry, as we gather for Bible Study and discussion on a Podcast from the ELCA website. All women of St. James Lutheran and Calvary Lutheran Churches are welcome. Happy Hookers Many wonderful gifts were distributed to our shut-ins and nursing homes this year. Thanks to all the ladies of Calvary for making the lovely angels and crocheted items. PASTORAL PARTNERS REORGANIZING.. The Pastoral Partners group, under the direction of our Parish Nurse Becky Maxson and Pastor Knowles, needs some more volunteers to make phone calls, visits and give rides to those who need them. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Becky or Pastor Don. If you can serve in any of the above capacities, it would be much appreciated! 3
USHER-COUNTER SCHEDULE December Schedule Openings in 2018 We still have an opening for Usher and Counter. If you would like to volunteer please let me know in the office. Around the middle of January I will be placing Usher and Counter schedules for February through January 2019 in your boxes. SIMPLY GIVING - Why not start 2018 with an easy way to stay up-todate with your giving? The Simply Giving program is so easy to set up and allows you to automatically make contributions to Calvary on a schedule you decide upon. If interested, check with Pam Gross, our Treasurer, THRIVENT MEMBERS Choice Dollars Thrivent members have an option to contribute their Choice Dollars to any non-profit organization. Calvary Lutheran Church has received over $900 from this program for the 2017 year. If you have not allocated your funds for 2017 you have until the end of March to do so. SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE HOUR We are always looking for volunteers to help with clean-up after coffee hour. Consider staying a few minutes later to rinse the cups or help load the dishwasher. Many hands make quick work. Currently Calvary provides a subscription to Living Lutheran magazine formally The Lutheran for every household in our congregation that would like to receive the magazine. This year the cost for the congregational plan is $8.95 per household per year. (An individual subscription is $19.95/year.) If you are not receiving Living Lutheran and would like to, please contact the church office. Also, if you would no longer like to receive the magazine, let us know and we will remove your name from the subscription list. To help offset our cost of the subscriptions, envelopes will be available on the back table in the narthex. Any help you can provide toward your subscription to Living Lutheran would be greatly appreciated. As we come to the end of the year, I want to thank everyone for all the gifts given to Calvary throughout 2017. Remember that our gifts from God consist of our time, talents and possessions. Monetarily, Calvary has had a good year; we have paid our bills and met our benevolences that we agreed upon at our annual meeting. We have been able to do other types of outreach through our Thrivent Action teams in working for God s Kingdom. Can we do more? The answer is always yes! As 2017 comes to a close, count your blessings and make sure that you have done your share for the work at Calvary and beyond. Also, look ahead to 2018 and ask what God is seeking from you to further help in the ministry here at Calvary. ----- Pam Gross May there be Peace, Hope, Love and Joy in the world, but also in your hearts as well. May each of you have a Blessed New Year. 4
Growth in Giving Gift Chart This chart is prepared for you to use as you prayerfully consider your financial gift to Calvary Lutheran Church in 2018. Please remember that we give first as an expression of joy and thanksgiving for God s abundant grace in Christ. A second reason we give is that our ministries at Calvary might remain strong and bold in the proclamation of God s life giving grace in Christ. Completed commitment forms can be placed in the offering plate or submitted to the office. Present Giving Per Week Growing 10 Percent Growing 15 Percent Growing 20 Percent $1.00 $5.00 $10.00 $15.00 $20.00 $25.00 $30.00 $35.00 $40.00 $45.00 $50.00 $60.00 $70.00 $80.00 $90.00 $100.00 $120.00 $140.00 $150.00 $200.00 $1.10 $5.50 $11.00 $16.50 $22.00 $27.50 $33.00 $38.50 $44.00 $49.50 $55.00 $66.00 $77.00 $88.00 $99.00 $110.00 $132.00 $154.00 $165.00 $220.00 $1.15 $5.75 $11.50 $17.25 $23.00 $28.75 $34.50 $40.25 $46.00 $51.75 $57.50 $69.00 $80.50 $92.00 $103.50 $115.00 $138.00 $161.00 $172.50 $230.00 $1.20 $6.00 $12.00 $18.00 $24.00 $30.00 $36.00 $42.00 $48.00 $54.00 $60.00 $72.00 $84.00 $96.00 $108.00 $120.00 $144.00 $168.00 $180.00 $240.00 MY PROMISES TO GOD FOR 2018 Name In response to God s blessings to me/us, I/we pledge to God for the mission and ministry of God s church through Calvary Lutheran Church: $ per week/month/year (circle one) for Current and Benevolence expenses. I/we also commit $ per week/month/year (circle one) toward the Building Fund. I/we understand that unforeseen circumstances may affect my ability to honor this pledge. I would like to make this promise in the form of an Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) so that I can support the church regularly even when I am not able to be there. (Information will be provided to you regarding this program if needed.) Sincerely, Your Stewardship Team 5
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