A Message From Our Pastor - Thanksgiving Eve, the Festival of Christ the King, and Other Matters

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

As we celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving this week, we also gather as a community of faith tonight to sing our praises to the God who gives us life, and gives it abundantly! If you are not traveling, join us in the parish house blue room at 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve (Wed., Nov. 21), as we gather with members of St. Paul Lutheran Church (Wayne Ave.) for a soup dinner (vegetable beef). At 7:00 p.m., we will retire to the sanctuary for a service of lessons, prayers, song and sharing of memories.

For those of you who will be traveling, be safe, and have a wonderful celebration!

We have come to the end of the church year cycle. This weekend we celebrate the Festival of Christ the King. The following weekend is the beginning of Advent, the start of a new church year. This year, most of the Gospel lessons in worship have been from the Gospel According to Luke. When we begin a new church year, most of our Gospel lessons will be from the Gospel According to Matthew. This weekend, the Festival of Christ the King, we celebrate the victory over sin, death, and evil we have in Jesus as our eternal Lord and King, and the everlasting promise that we are God's children FOREVER!

The 2008 Offering Envelopes will be available for you to pick up this weekend in the narthex. Please take home your pack of envelopes this weekend, or when you return to town.

And, for those who were unable to be in worship last weekend, the 2008 Estimate of Giving Cards are available in the narthex. Please take one home. In prayer, ask God what God wants you to do with your financial gifts in 2008, then complete the form, place it in the addressed envelope, and return it to the church by December 2.

$5825 AND COUNTING! That's right. We've met the challenge with over one month to go! In response to your generosity, a family in our congregation who has already donated $5000 for HVAC, Jeremiah's Letter, and Lutheran World Relief, will donate another $5000. Way to go!

"It doesn't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing." (Duke Ellington and Irving Mills) May the Holy Spirit breathe that "swing" into your lives and give you meaning that can only come from knowing the Lord! See you in worship.

In Christ's peace,
Gary