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Friends-
What will be different for you in the new year? What hopes, dreams, or plans do you have? I'm not a new-years-resolutions kind of guy, but I do look back on the year past and look ahead to the year coming. I try to remember what I learned and try to consider where God might be guiding me. I do ask God to guide my steps and to set me on the path of his choosing. Of course, none of us is privileged to know the future. That's why we need to pay such close attention to knowing God, and to sensing his nudges, prompts, and whispered words. We don't know the future, but he does. We don't know the future, so it makes the most sense to get to know the One who holds the future in his hand. Knowing about him is not enough. The best thing each of us could do to ensure a good 2025 is to renew our surrender to God and ask for his help in discerning and following his way. We will mess up. We will miss some directions. But as we continue to submit to him, we can be sure he will get us back on track. The real question is, who do I want to please- him or me? I pray you have a great month and a great 2025! With you in his service, Gary CALENDAR Sundays - Every Sunday - Worship Service - 10:30 a.m. in person and via Zoom. 1/5 - Worship Service and Communion Sunday - Pack up and put away the Christmas decorations after worship - Bring your coins for benevolence if you forgot in December 1/19 - Worship Service followed by potluck and annual meeting. Mondays - NEW! - Every Monday Ordinary Time Bible Study/Fellowship - 1/6 - Ordinary Time Kick Off with Potluck - 5:30 PM - church basement Wednesdays - Every Wednesday Bible Study via Zoom - 7 PM 1/15 - Prayer Time - 1 PM - Sanctuary Thursdays - 1/9 - Church Board Meeting via Zoom - 7 PM Other News - Zoom - email Gary at [email protected] for Zoom link. Upper Room - The January/February copies of the Upper Room Devotional are now available. Be sure to get one and perhaps take an extra for a friend or family member. Packing up Christmas Decorations - 1/5 - The sanctuary has looked spectacular this Christmas season, but it is time to say goodbye to our decorations. Please stay after church on 1/5 to help pack up and put away everything. Grab some coffee and snacks, then we will work together to take care of that. Ordinary Time Bible Study/Fellowship - Everyone should have received an in-depth email about this new study that will start in January and continue to April 14. Anyone interested will come together on Monday nights for study, reflection, and fellowship. The topics will be various teachings of Jesus. The first night is January 6 at the church at 5:30 PM starting with a potluck. Some weeks will be in homes and some at the church. If you are interested in hosting at your home or the church there is a signup sheet in the fellowship room. You do not have to be a host to come. This will be a great chance to know Jesus and each other better. Talk to Brtitni Zick or Gary if you have questions. Prayer Time - 1/15 - Gather in the sanctuary at 1 PM to pray or be prayed for. Annual Meeting and Potluck - 1/19 - Plan on staying after worship on Sunday, January 19 for our potluck and annual meeting. Bring a dish or two to share for the potluck if you can. The meeting is an important time to discuss 2024 and look ahead to 2025 in the life of our church. Look for your minutes via email from the January 2024 meeting. Read them ahead of the meeting if possible. Everyone's input is important. We hope to see you on January 19. Thanks - Thanks to Diane Upton for refurbishing our Sunday morning kids bags. Just a reminder that those are at the back of the sanctuary. They are full of good things for little children to do during worship. If someone is visiting with kids be sure to mention it to them as well. Thanks to Gary's office at Anderson Gardens for donating our beautiful poinsettias this year. The poinsettias will be looking for homes after church on 1/5, feel free to take one. Thanks to Judy Murphy who headed up our Caledonia School Christmas project. It was a very successful drive and we so appreciate all that Judy did. We also want to thank Judy and Tim for hosting our Christmas fellowship in December. It was a fun time of food and fellowship. Update on our Christmas Families - From Judy: Your generosity for the Christmas family project was overwhelming! You provided gift cards, gifts, and cash to brighten the holiday season for two deserving families. Walmart, Target, Woodman's, and Aldi gift cards helped the moms get ready for the holiday. Some of the cash was used to help catch up on bills. The rest was used to provide gifts of clothes, toys, books, art supplies, and gift cards for the boys. The moms are very grateful to you for your support. God is so good! Announcements - Just a reminder that we are no longer doing announcements on Sunday morning. If there is an announcement that is not in the newsletter it will be sent out as an email during the week. If you have something you want announced, please write it down and give it to Gary. Or send him a text with your information. The one exception will be the annual meeting and congregational meetings. To follow our constitution we must verbally announce those at least 2 times before the actual meeting. Reading about Prayer - If you are looking for books or magazines about prayer, check the counter in the office. Winter coffee pop up with Music - Looking for something to do this winter? Anderson Gardens is hosting a coffee shop pop-up and free music this winter. It is inside of their Fresco restaurant but run by Megs Coffee during this time. The coffee shop is open from 11-3 each of those days. There are drinks, simple sandwiches, and baked goods to purchase. From about 11:30 - 2:30 is live music. The majority of the music is musicians from the Rockford Symphony. There is usually a couple of them playing at a time. Occasionally there are some other types of musicians. It is a very relaxing environment. People are chatting, reading or just listening to the music. There is no entrance fee and you don't even have to buy anything if you don't want to. The view outside is beautiful. Weekends can be a little busy. If you have any questions, talk to Gary or Jennifer. Looking Ahead - Chili Cook-Off and Dessert Bake-Off - 2/9 - Start working on your favorite chili or dessert recipe to prepare for another friendly competition in early February! It will be held right after church on Sunday, February 9. Look for a sign-up sheet later in January. If you don't want to compete, there will be other things that you can sign up to bring. Be sure to bring your appetite! Dear friends-
In the middle of all the tumult of the world, believers in Christ make it their business at this time of the year to pause and consider the incredible- the coming to earth as a human baby by the one, true, sovereign God. Hard to get your head around that, isn't it? Paul the apostle wrote about it this way: "Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, and being made in human likeness." (Philippians 2:6,7) I encourage you to consider what this means for you personally. In anticipation of the amazing event, we will be focusing our attention this month on how his coming affects us, our loved ones, and our world. I encourage you to take time to read Paul's thoughts in Philippians 2, and the gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke (chapters 1 and 2 in each book). Consider how much God loves us, and savor that love in some moments of quiet reflection. Ask God to fill you with wonder as you consider this holy, selfless act. Remember that he came for you, just as you are. I'm looking forward to considering this together and worshipping the One who came... Have a great month! Gary Calendar Sundays - Every Sunday - Worship Service - 10:30 am in person and via Zoom. 12/1 - Worship Service and Communion Sunday 12/8 - Worship service followed by Congregational Meeting 12/15 - Worship Service followed by fellowship at Tim and Judy Murphy's home. - 9:30 am - board meets to put together Christmas boxes. - 11:30 - Fellowship time at the Murphy's. 12/22 - Worship Service possibly followed by another special fellowship. TBA 12/29 - Worship Service - Final Coin Collection of the year. Tuesdays - 12/24 - Christmas Eve Service - 4:30 PM in person in the sanctuary and via Zoom. Wednesdays - Every Wednesday Bible Study via Zoom - 7 PM. - no study on 12/25. 12/18 - Prayer Time - 1 PM - Sanctuary Thursdays - 12/5 - Church Board Meeting via Zoom - 7 PM. Other News - Zoom - Contact Gary at [email protected] for the Zoom link Jefferson Praire Invitation - The Jefferson Prairie Lutheran Church is having a Magic Show for children of all ages on Saturday, December 7 at 2 PM. We have been invited. There will be a magic show, refreshments, and gift bags. Sounds like a fun event to take your kids, grandkids, or neighbor kids. Their address is 23184 Bergen Road. Congregational Meeting - 12/8 - Please plan on staying for a short congregational meeting after worship on Sunday, December 8. Decisions on the budget will be discussed. Everyone's input is important. Helping Families - Every year we help families from the Caledonia School. This year Judy Muphy has been in contact with two families in need. Please talk to Judy if you have questions, want a list of ideas, or if you want to donate cash. Please bring gifts to the church by December 15. They can be wrapped or not. If you wrap, please try to attach a post-it note to say what the gift is. Special Christmas Fellowship - 12/15 - On Sunday, December 15 we are invited to Tim and Judy Murphy's home for our fellowship time after the worship service. It only takes a couple of minutes to get to their home. Perhaps carpool for easier parking. Their address is 15333 Caledonia Rd. This will be a wonderful time to gather together to enjoy each other's company and to enjoy some holiday treats. If you are interested in helping provide some of the treats, please talk to Judy. 12/22 - We are still looking for another home to gather on Sunday, December 22 for fellowship time. If you are interested please talk to Jennifer. Prayer Time - 12/18 - Anyone wishing to pray or be prayed for is invited to come to the sanctuary on Wednesday 12/18 at 1 PM. Christmas Eve Service - 12/24 - We took a survey and it was decided that there will be a Christmas Eve service this year. We look forward to seeing you at 4:30 PM on Tuesday, December 24. We will sing Christmas carols, hear the Christmas story, hear a message, and close by candlelight. Thanks - Many thanks to those of you who helped decorate the church for Advent/Christmas. As always, it looks beautiful. Thanks to those of you who made a donation and took some of the things from the pie room. That money will go to the school families we are helping. Looking Ahead- Annual Meeting and Potluck - Sunday, January 19 will be our annual meeting and potluck after the worship service. if you attend this church you are welcomed and encouraged to attend. We have fabulous potlucks and that will be followed by a business meeting. We look at the past year and do some planning for the coming year. Everyone's ideas and input are needed. Plan on bringing a dish or two to pass. More information will be in the January newsletter. |
AuthorGary Schwerin, pastor Archives
January 2025
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