TIDINGS 2017 CALVARY LUTHERAN ADVENT DEVOTIONAL BY AND FOR CALVARY LUTHERAN MEMBERS AND FRIENDS! Be sure to pick up a copy of our Advent Devotionals written by your Calvary family. Thank you to everyone who wrote a devotion(s). Feel free to pick up an extra copy to share with your friends and neighbors. 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. December 24th (4th Sunday in Advent) Sunday Morning Worship @ 10 a.m. Please note: There will be NO 5:30 p.m. Service on Sat., Dec. 23rd. CHRISTMAS POINSETTIAS The Altar Guild is ordering poinsettias to decorate the sanctuary for the Christmas season. You may purchase a poinsettia for $10.00 in honor of/or in memory of a loved one, just be sure to fill out a form on the table in the narthex or from the church office and then drop your form and $10 in the offering plate or church office. You may also bring your own poinsettia to share during the Christmas season, then fill free to take your poinsettias home with you anytime after the Christmas Eve services. BELL RINGING FOR THE SALVATION ARMY There are still a few slots available for Bell ringing for Calvary Lutheran on December 9th from 9 am through 7 pm at Safeway. The slots are for one hour each. Check the sign up sheet posted on the bulletin board by the church office for times still available. OWL s CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON December 6th at Noon The High School choir will be here to entertain us! Join us for food, fun and fellowship! Page 1
Do you see what I see? said the night wind to the little lamb. Yes, in December it seems all our attention is on Christmas. For all practical purposes it has become a month long celebration. There will be gatherings and shopping, baking and family all throughout the month. But what do you see? Or maybe the question is what are you looking for? Because what we are looking for often determines what we will see. If we are looking for our keys, we are not going to notice much else until we have looked in every coat pocket, emptied our purses and retraced our steps until we have found them. Whenever you lose something, especially if it has value, (emotional or material) it often dominates your thoughts, especially losses you know won t be found, like the loss of a loved one. They call it a blue Christmas when that happens---you know they are gone like the car keys, but no matter where or how hard you look. Well, they aren t going to come back. They are gone from our sight. This makes for a difficult Christmas for many of us. When the rest of the world is looking for a party, we wish we could find that loved one just for one more embrace. Everywhere we turn, every ornament we hang, we see their face, smell their cologne, hear their voice, but still we look hoping to see. Do you see what I see? said the night wind, A star, a star with a tail as big as a kite. The magi saw a star in the night and began to follow because they were looking for a king. When we are looking for something, what guides us? In some cases, it s a flashlight hoping to catch a glimmer from the diamond that once graced our wedding ring. In some cases, it s simply a word of comfort and caring and hope. In closing I simply want to say Merry Christmas and in those words know that my prayer is that in Jesus Christ, the baby born in Bethlehem, you will find what you are looking for: hope for the future, joy in believing and comfort in loss. Merry Christmas! Pastors Chris and Sheryl HOSPITALIZED? PLEASE LET US KNOW If you are hospitalized, please contact (or have a friend or family member contact) the church office and let us know so that we can visit and pray with you. Providing pastoral care is an important part of our ministry, however, we cannot visit if we don t know, so please don t hesitate to call or email the church office, so that we can be there for you. Thanks! Pastors Sheryl and Chris Page 2
Calvary Lutheran Council Meeting Summary 11/13/2017 Nov. Devotions Jim Dorn Dec. Devotions Dennis Gorr Finance Grant Hinze Went over financial statement for September. Started October with $13,470.00 ended with $14,058.00. November insurance payment due. Board of Outreach Mary Jo Huelle - from meeting on Sept. 20, 2017 The Visitor Parking signs are done, just need to be installed. Mary Jo will do a temple talk on new take aways after consulting with the council. The committee will develop a Christmas Eve invitation similar to last year s Easter Invitation. Pictorial directory is being planned. We will do it in house. Possible dates for pictures are Dec. 10 th and 27 th and some Saturday night after the 1 st of the year. It will be necessary to sign up and schedule a time for the photo to be taken at church. Board of Parish Education Angie Hinze Children s Christmas program scheduled for Dec. 10 th. Will be doing a different format, more inter-generational with some adults and the choir also taking a part in this year s Christmas program. No Women s dinner this year, but on December 6 th during the OWL s monthly luncheon, we will have a musical presentation by Brad Ronne and one of the Choirs from SBHS. December 13 th JAM & EPIC will be Christmas caroling. Adults are invited to join our youth for caroling. Board of Social Ministry Will Voss/Jack Martin Bell Ringing scheduled for Dec. 9 th at Safeway. Signup is outside of Noni s office. Will have names by Nov. 26 th for the Angel tree, will need gifts by Dec. 15 th. Habitat house may not be finished by Christmas, dedication will be scheduled after the 1 st of the year. Board of Trustees Bill Steele/Jim Dorn Glazing and painting of windows has been completed. Cleaned up sinks in girls bathroom. New Treasurer s office room has been cleaned; painting still needs to be done. Nominating Committee Jack Martin. Still seeking someone to serve as chair of the Education Board and someone to run for Council Secretary. Pastors: Will be receiving several new members during worship on Nov. 5. Will also dedicate the new kitchen appliances, bulk of the memorial monies came from Elsie Williams memorials. Will be doing Advent devotional again this year. New Business: Scholarships motion was made by Neal B. and 2 nd Accepted by Jim D. to award Jackson Hinze (who will be returning to Wesleyan University in Lincoln, NE) and Brian Johnston (who will be returning to Morningside College at Sioux City, IA.) scholarships for the second semester. 2018 Budget Grant went over budget worksheets for 2018. Each Board is asked to look over the numbers and make any needed changes and then get those sheets back in to Grant before the next council meeting. Budget Forum scheduled for week before annual meeting which is scheduled for Jan. 21 st. 2018. (A complete copy of the council minutes are available from the church office) Page 3
CHRISTMAS INVITATIONS Looking for a way to invite a friend or neighbor to worship this Christmas? The Outreach Committee has a solution. Preprinted announcements are now available for you to pick up. This attractive invitation lists worship times, church address and phone number and date Christmas Eve Dec 24 th. Since Christmas Eve happens to fall on Sunday this year, regular Sunday worship at 10 AM, is also listed along with the 5 PM and 7 PM Candlelight services. Take several and leave them in acceptable information places, like public notice kiosks or businesses that allow public notices. Take some to hand out or keep as a reminder for yourself. We encourage you to pick them up in the narthex or on the credenzas in the breezeway. HANGING OF THE GREENS PARTY, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 RD The Worship Committee would like to invite anyone interested to join them following worship on December 3 rd to decorate the Sanctuary for Christmas. It s a fun way to get in the Christmas spirit and with lots of help it doesn t take long at all. Hope to see you here! Page 4 LOOKING FOR SPECIAL MUSIC FOR OUR CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES The Worship Committee is looking for people willing to share special music (vocal or instrumental) at our Christmas Eve Services, either at 5 or 7 p.m. or both. If you are interested, please talk to Pastors Sheryl or Chris.
December Mission Project The WELCA project for December is the Angel Tree. Please see below for detailed information on our Angel Tree ministry. Our Mission Project for December is to encourage the members of Calvary to support the Angel Tree. Take a name from the tree, purchase and wrap a gift, and bring it back to the church placing it under the tree by Dec. 15th. Please note: suggested gift amount is $15-$20. If the names are all taken you can always bring food items for the Food Pantry or Backpack Program. This month the study is in the form of a devotion. We will be reflecting on Luke 2:9-14 and what the Christmas season means for us. Please join one of the groups below this season and prepare your hearts this Advent as we await the great gift and birthday of our savior Jesus Christ. Come and join one of the groups listed below for study and fellowship Hannah Study Group Monday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.-becky Martin s home 2120 20th Street, Gering Priscilla Study Group Tuesday, Dec. 5 @ 7:30 p.m.- Angie Hinze s home 615 Valley View Dr. Scottsbluff Ruth/Esther Study Group Tuesday, Dec. 12 @ 9:00 a.m.- Ruth Harris home (Combined) 9 Brentwood Ct., Scottsbluff ANOTHER BIBLE STUDY OPPORTUNITY Each Tuesday at noon a group of women meet at the church to study scripture together. Currently we are in an Advent study. Please consider joining us for study and some great conversations.. All ladies are invited to join any of these groups. ANGEL TREE MINISTRY The Social Ministry Board is again sponsoring the ANGEL TREE. Paper ornaments have been placed on the Angel Christmas Tree across from the Pastors offices with either the name and age of a recipient, or a gift idea. Names include youth from the Lakota Center as well as names screened by CAPWIN. Please sign out your ornament on the sheet on the table next to the tree and be sure to match the number on the label with the number on the sheet. The suggested dollar amount per gift is $15 $20. This assures continuity of the value of the gifts. Please return the wrapped gift with the ornament attached to the outside of the package, NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15th. If you are unable to purchase a gift, you may donate cash and a gift will be purchased. You may use the tan Designated Giving envelopes (clearly mark for Angel Tree) in the pews or leave your donation in the church office or with Pastor Chris. Page 5
Pastoral Care/Prayer Requests Prayers for Healing: Becky Michael (surgery), Jim Dorn (eye surgery), Kathy Renstrom (Paul Bueide s sister-partial hip replacement cancer), Dennis Stevens (David Steven s brother), Juanita Gibbs (recovering), Linda Spomer (recovering from surgery), Rhonda Boettcher (recovering from surgery), Steve Kaufman (recovering from surgery), Val Rahrs (recovering from neck surgery), Pastor Nicki McIntyre (Dave Kleensang s step-mother), Wanda Payne (recovering from hip surgery), Bob Dedlow (Jim and Mabel s son-cancer treatment), Lillian Blehm, Bill Steele. If you have Prayer Requests, please contact Nancy Steele through her e-mail nancylsteele@embarqmail.com Thank you to my Calvary family for all your prayers, cards and phone calls that we received during our recent illness and loss. Your thoughtfulness is very much appreciated. Fran Johnson and family 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Get Your Picture Taken for our new Pictorial Directory The Outreach Board is in the process of creating a new Pictorial Directory for our congregation, using a program called Instant Church Directory. This program allows us to have a member of the congregation take the directory photos for us, rather than hiring one of those expensive companies. It also allows us to easily keep our directory up to date as new members join or others move away. However, to make this project successful, we need you to sign up for a time to get your picture taken by our photographer. Special thanks, btw, to Brooke Samuelson, for agreeing to be the photographer for this project. For those interested, Brooke will provide each individual or family with a high resolution digital copy of their photo that you will be able to take to Walgreens or Walmart, etc. to have your photo printed. At this time, we have scheduled 2 different times for pictures to be taken, Sunday, December 10 th from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 pm and Wednesday, December 27 th from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. If need be, we will schedule additional times after the first of the year. Please look for the sign-up sheets in the narthex or call the church office to schedule your photo shoot. Tammy Lutz 12/2 Mary Ellen Kropp 12/17 LuVerne Knoedler 12/6 Janie Voss 12/18 Donna Judd 12/6 Julie Aschenbrenner 12/19 Judy Williams 12/8 Wes Sell 12/25 Linda Hauschild 12/12 Vicki Schmidt 12/26 Brock Nikont 12/14 Troy Gregory 12/26 James Zier 12/14 Alec Sibal 12/27 Peggy Nelson 12/14 Tracy Steele 12/28 Kolten Burgner 12/16 Jack Schmidt 12/31 If we missed your birthday, please let the office know.. Support our local Food Programs. The Food Pantry and BackPack Programs provide important services to those experiencing food insecurity in our community. This month s requested items are: Food Pantry: PACKAGED COOKIES Backpack Program : APPLESAUCE Page 6
CALVARY YOUTH NEWS - DECEMBER DECEMBER 6 Christmas Program Practice - Christmas Ham Dinner JAM Wednesdays 6 p.m (4 yrs 6th grade) DECEMBER 10 Sunday School Christmas Program at 10:00 a.m. Love Letters from God! DECEMBER 13 Christmas Caroling with JAM, EPIC and the Confirmation Class All family members (and any other interested adults) are invited to join our youth for a caroling party Pizza to follow! DECEMBER 10 CHRISTMAS PROGRAM 10:00 a.m. Worship Service EPIC DECEMBER 13 FAMILY CAROLING NIGHT! 6:00 p.m. - Pizza DECEMBER 17 EPIC CHRISTMAS PARTY 5:00 p.m. at the Hinzes December 20 NO JAM December 27 NO JAM Page 7
What kind of man would receive the care of a Stephen Minister? A man like David who grieved the death of a wayward child and needed a shepherd s care. A man like Job who lost everything and needed someone to silently endure his pain with him. A man like Jesus who knew disappointment, sorrow, grief, rejection, loneliness, so intense that he sweat blood and needed an angel of God to minister to him. A man (or woman) like YOU. If you would like to know more about how a Stephen Minister could care for you, please contact Nancy Steele (632-7558) or (641-7619) or Marsha Bueide (635-1469). REMINDER: Endowment requests were due December 1st. Please submit your request to the office as soon as possible. Calvary s Church Office Phone number: (308) 632-8023 or 632-8024 Contact the Office by E-mail at: calvarylutheranscottsbluff@gmail.com Send physical mail/offerings to: 17 E. 27 th Street, Scottsbluff, NE 69361. Pastor Chris:Kester Beyer (402) 694-9189 pastorchriskb@gmail.com Pastor Sheryl:Kester Beyer (402) 694-9182 pastorsherylkb@gmail.com Pastors home phone: (308) 631-7656 Youth & Family Ministry Dir. Angie Hinze: 631-2768 or at the Church office. adhinze@gmail.com Nancy Steele, PMA: 632-7558 nancysteele@embarqmail.com Deadline for weekly announcements is Wed. at 5 PM. Deadline for monthly Tidings Newsletter content is the 20 th of each calendar month. Find us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/calvarylutheranscottsbluff WEBSITE www.calvarylutheranscottsbluff.org WHEN YOU MISS WORSHIP Sermon Podcasts, Worship Bulletins, God s Story @ Home Inserts are all available on our website. Just go to www.calvarylutheranscottsbluff.org and click on the worship tab. Daily Devos are also available on our home page. Page 8 Page 8
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