December 2016 Light & Life

Christ Lutheran Church Newsletter Rev. Katherine Rood

Our Mission Statement: As members of Christ Lutheran we gather in worship, grow in God’s Word, serve in Jesus name.

Christ Lutheran Church

1820 Knight Ave. N.

Glencoe, Mn. 55336

Office: 320-864-4549

Email: office@christluth.com

Non profit organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Permit # 14

Glencoe, Mn. 55336

Address Service Requested

Christ Lutheran Church Staff Pastor, Rev. Katherine Rood, office 864-5077

Christian Ed. Coord., Susie Christianson, 864-3099

Secretary, Kathy Remus, office 864-4549

Custodians, Mark & Cindy Robertson

Abundant Table Community Meal

The Abundant Table Community Meal is FREE and open to

everyone-families and children, elderly and all seeking fellowship or in need of a helping hand. When: December 7th (the first Wednesday of every Month) Where: Christ Lutheran Church Basement Fellowship Hall, 1820 Knight Avenue, Glencoe, MN 55336. Serving: “Our Christmas Meal” – Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Sweet Carrots, Fruit Sal-ad, Abundant Table Bread and Christmas Cookies and Ice Cream.

Join us as we began our fifth year!

Time: Doors open at 4:30 PM for Fellowship; Meal served at 5:00 PM. Notification: Let us know to prepare for you by calling Christ Lutheran Church at 320-864-4549. Remember there is a place for YOU at our Abundant Table.

November Abundant

Table

At the November 2nd

Abundant Table

Meal, we served 158 guests.

We served: Roast Turkey, Dress-

ing, Mashed Potatoes, Green

Beans, Cranberry Salad, Dinner

Rolls and Pumpkin Pie.

We appreciate and thank our Christ Lutheran servers, setup helpers and those cleaning up this month: Mary Entinger, Judy Ide, Judy Peterson, Dennis and Charlotte Dittmer, Marv and Glo-ria Gustafson, and Marv and Fran Huwe, Bruce and Marcia Miller, Connie Heitz, Darlene Hennessey, Dale and Jean Pagel, Karen and Dennis Wendlandt, Kathy Marsh, Millie Drier, Grace Kosek, Hailey Overman, Amanda Overman, Katelyn Collins, Kena-dy Rosckes, and Hope Kosek. Thanks to Wally Rannow, Duane McDougall, Jerry Schimelpfenig and Rodger Jenneke for helping setup for the meal.

We also want to thank our faithful cleanup helpers Kev-in and Peggy Menning and fami-ly. With serving our many guests, many jump in to help and we may not have gotten your name-but we thank you. Finally, we also thank the Abundant Table Ministry Team – LaMane Mueller, Cheryl McDou-gall, Mary Jo Schimelpfenig, Dianne VonBerge, Kevin and Peggy Menning and Barb Jenneke. We cannot do this minis-try without the faithful help of so many. God Bless you and God Bless our Abundant Table.

***************************

“Live Mercy” “Name Of God Is Mercy” “A Time For Mercy” “Too Much Mercy?” “Mercy And Compassion”

A CLC Advent

Series begin-

ning on Wed.

Nov. 30th at 7

pm. The Advent Series goes until

Wed. Dec. 21st. Please join us

for our Advent Worship Services.

*************************************

Just a reminder! CLC has a TEAF

fund (temporary emergency assis-

tance fund). We have chosen the

last Sunday of each month to col-

lect donations to this fund, but of

course donations at any time are

welcome. Please remember this

Mission in your givings!

All Members! Check out the new items at the Equal Ex-change Coffee

Hutch! There are new coffee’s, teas, hot cocoa, olive oil, candy bars etc…. Purchasing these items helps the small farmer co-ops around the world. Farm-ers earn a fair price for their crops, have access to afford-able credit, and can invest in education, health care and sustainable agriculture, building a better future for their families. Take a look and if purchasing please place your monies in the locked box attached to the hutch.

THANK YOU TO: To: Vicky Harris, Chris Starr, Twyla Kirkeby Randy Wil-son for their music ministry.

To Lynda Wagoner, Suzanne Adams, Joanne Chrast & Melba Carlson for their Thanksgiving Decorating of the Altar. To Bonnie Hahn, Melba Carlson, Scott & Carla Kuehn for their assistance in the All Saints Sunday service. To the Praise & Pizza team members who provided mu-sic at Gert/Erma’s on Nov. 10th. To the Ushers , Acolytes, Lectors, Cantors, Head Ushers, Communion Servers who enhanced our worship life in the month of November .

To our digital projection and sound ministers: Dave Mellesmoen , Susie Christianson , Lily Kirchoff, Mason Husted, Scott Kuehn, Connie Duenow, Grace Kosek, Izzy Elias in the month of November. To Twyla Kirkeby , Louise Carlson, Melba Carlson for their assistance with the Grand Meadows & LTC Wor-ship services in November . To Judy Larsen for serving on Kitchen Guild in the month of November.

To Suzann Adams for the upkeep of the flowers and plants in church. To Susie Christianson for her digital worship design, preparation of the televised service and Renee Hansch for announcement preparation. To Cheryl & Duane McDougall, Shari & Kayla O’Donnell, Missions Team, Mary Stoltenburg & Karin Ramige for providing refreshments in the month of November . To All the Ministry Teams who took part in the Mission Fair held at CLC on Sunday, 11-13-2016.

To all the people who provided bars ,served ,set up and ushered for the funeral of Milton Kottke held here on Nov. 13th. To all the members who donated clothing for the cloth-ing drive for our partners in South Africa and a special thanks to Richard & Nancy Dolezal for helping load the clothes onto the truck.

To Jim Carlson, Darrell Hansch, Dale Pagel & Marvin Huwe for getting the Christmas trees and setting them up.

To Melba Carlson & Joanne Chrast for setting up the Advent Candle table with greens .

To all members who contributed food for the Thanksgiv-ing Community Meal held at Congo Church.

To Susie Christianson and youth from CLC for helping set up at the Congo Church for the Community Thanksgiv-ing meal.

To Marv Huwe for delivering the food from the Thanks-giving Eve service to the Food Shelf. To the Wednesday night worship assistants for sup-porting the Worship Service. To Dennis Davis for his Baritone solo and Vicky Harris accompanying on the piano on Sun. Nov. 27th. To Pat Bergseng, Karen Wendlandt & Judy Mansager for serving on the Altar Guild in November. To all members who have served and are currently serv-ing in the armed forces on behalf of America and free-dom for all.

To Jeanne Pagel , Jim & Melba Carlson for helping to assemble the Light & Life newsletter in November. If we have missed someone for Thank You’s please con-tact the church office and let us know.

The Glencoe Caregiver Support & Discussion Group will be held at Christ Lutheran on Thursday, December 8th , at 10:30 am.

This event is sponsored by Lutheran Social Service.

Please attend if you are a caregiver to a loved one.

You don’t have to do it alone. Join the conversation!

To All Ministry Teams and members

and also the Sr. Choir. On Sunday Dec.

11th, John Graupman will be here to take

pictures of the teams and choir for the Pic-

torial Directory. Please make every effort

to be here after the worship service for

your pictures.

Thank You!

“Thank You to all who contributed, time, food or

money for the 24th Annual Community Thanks-

giving Dinner at 1st Congo Church. 148 peo-

ple attended the meal with $824 donated to

the Food Shelf. God Bless You All!

December 2016 NEWS

Women of the ELCA

Christ Lutheran Church Women

Your 2016 Coordinating Team:

Cheryl McDougall – President

Barb Jenneke – Reporter/Secretary & Reports

Linda Simonson – Treasurer

Connie Hanson – Vice President, Jan-March

Jodi Braband – Vice President, April-June

Nita Enderson – Vice President, July-September

Mary Jo Schimelpfenig – Vice President, October-

December ____________________________________________________

Coordinating Team 2016 Projects

Check the WELCA Booklet for our 2016 events & projects

which we build around our Mission Statement:

As Sisters in Christ, Our Mission is achieved by action in:

Caring for our Church Growing in our Faith

Supporting our Community

This year we will be calling all CLC women to help

with our projects and events. If you are interested in helping with any of our projects at any time, please

contact a member of the Coordinating Team. We would love to have you help us achieve our Mission. WELCA is open to all our Church women of all ages!

Come join us!

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The next Coordinating Team Meeting is Thursday, De-

cember 8th at the Church, at 4:45 pm at our Church ser-

vice. All CLC women are welcome.

……………………………………………………

Bold Women’s Sunday was February 28th

We hope you will be inspired to act boldly all year long! “Let’s Find our Bold!!” Whether you live out your bold story of faith in the workplace, family or community, your faith compels you to make a difference in the lives of others. Our ability to act boldly is rooted in our baptism and is continually ena-bled, empowered and supported by God’s grace. Bold Women:

*Take risks on account of the gospel *Help with projects that assist women in our community and our world *Grow their faith

Upcoming Events!

Save the Dates!

*Our annual Women of the ELCA Potluck Christmas Par-

ty is scheduled for December 4th at 5:30 PM. All women

of Christ Lutheran are encouraged to attend this fun

event. Bring a dish to share. We’ll enjoy music, fellow-

ship and prayer partner exchange.

*Organizational Meeting for Women's Bible Study.

Come to the meeting on Friday, January 13 at 10:00

a.m. Would you like a "No Frills" Bible Study that would

meet once a month at church? No need to make a des-

sert! Just bring your Bible and your own beverage. Bring

your friends! Contact Nita Enderson if you are interest-

ed.

Project Updates

On November 19 we hosted our 2nd annual Women’s Fall

Gathering. We sold 90 tickets for the event. Our guest

speaker was Patty Kark. Her message of “Extreme Make-

over – Need a Faith Lift?” was very inspiring and her

music so beautiful.

There are so many people who helped make this a huge

success.

Thanks to Pastor Katherine, Susie Christenson and Kathy

Remus. Thanks to our registration and door prize help-

ers. We were inspired by Pat Brinkman and Gail Kock for

their work for cancer patients wigs.

Thank you to LaMane Mueller and Joanne Chrast for the

delicious morning coffee and treats and the awesome

lunch that they prepared to the Women's Gathering!

Thank you to the men who helped prepare and serve the

food, clean up after lunch and put everything back in

place around the church: Jon Braband, Lee Hanson,

Duane McDougall, Eldean Enderson and Jim Carlson. We

couldn't have done it without you!

Finally, thanks to our Coordinating Team for all their

hard work. Thanks Nita Enderson for leading the event.

Barb Jenneke, CLC WELCA Reporter

Christian Education December 2016

KNOW – GROW – SHARE – LIVE – WITNESS

Sunday School: The 2nd rotation, Jesus is Born, will continue on Sunday, December 4th and 11th, 2016 @ 10:10am. During the 2nd rotation the students will be learning about the story of Jesus’ birth and how we can celebrate the gift of Jesus coming to us every day!

There will be NO Sunday School classes on Sunday, December 18th following the SS Christmas Worship Service and on Sunday, December 25th or January 1st because of the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays.

Sunday School classes will resume on Sunday, January 8th @ 10:10am and the students will begin their 3rd rotation lesson, Disciples.

The finalized 2015-2016 Sunday School schedule and updated Sunday School announcements can always be found on the website @ www.christluth.com/sunday-school.

Please mark your calendars for Sunday, December 18th. The Sunday School Christmas Worship Service (SSCWS) will be at the 9:00am Worship Service.

A sign-up sheet has been emailed to all SS students. If you did not receive the email or need a copy of the sign up please talk to Susie @ Sunday School on December 4th.

There will be ONE SATURDAY SSCWS practice for the Kindergarten – 6th grade SS Students on Saturday, December 17th from 9:00am – 10:00am.

The parts for the SSCWS will be handed out on December 4th and 11th.

If you have not already done so, PLEASE let Susie know ASAP, via phone, email or text, if your SS student(s) will be able to participate in the SSCWS.

Advent Take Home Activity: A Sunday School Advent take home activity has been created for all CLC families. Along with the activi-ty, there is a different Advent Prayer for each of the four weeks of Advent. The Advent activity will be sent home with the SS students on Sunday, December 4th and can also be found on the SS web page or on the bulletin board outside of Susie’s office.

Confirmation: Wednesdays, December 7th, 14th, 21st:

7th – 9th Grade Regular Classes @ 5:30pm – 7:00pm

7:00pm Advent Worship Service*

Wednesday, December 28th:

NO Confirmation Classes – Christmas Break

Wednesday, January 4th:

7th – 9th Grade Regular Classes @ 5:30pm – 7:00pm

*The Confirmation students will be serving as Worship Assistants for the Wednesday Evening Advent Worship Ser-

vices @ 7pm on Wednesdays, Nov. 30th, Dec. 7th, 14th and 21st. The Worship Assistant schedule has been posted on the

bulletin board outside of Susie’s office and also on the Confirmation web page.

GRACE Unlimited: Theme and Bible verse for December: Body & Community

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. – 1 Corinthians 12:27

Grace Unlimited 16-17 theme: SOUL: Sharing Our Unique Life.

THANK YOU to Pat Bergseng for providing snacks for the Grace Unlimited students on November 16 th! REMINDER: There will be NO GRACE UNLIMITED on Wednesday, December 28th, Christmas break.

Snacks for Grace Unlimited We are looking for volunteers to provide snacks for Grace Unlimited on Wednesday afternoons. The 31 students love almost any kind of snack!! We also like to include a fruit option for them too. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board outside of Susie’s with the dates and options for providing snacks. For monetary donations please indicate on the check that donation is for “Grace Unlimited Snacks”. Thank you so much for your support of Grace Unlimited and the students and for your generosity!

GRACE Unlimited is for students in 2nd – 6th grade and will be held Wednesday afternoons beginning on September 14th –

May 3rd, 2016 from 3:15pm – 5pm. Registration forms and detailed program information are available on our website @

www.christluth.com/grace-unlimited and on the bulletin board outside of Susie’s office.

2016 Wednesday 7:00pm Advent Worship Assistants

Date: Wed., Nov. 30th Wed., Dec. 7th Wed., Dec. 14th Wed., Dec. 21st

Acolyte: Zack M. Alex M. Porter M. Carter R.

Ushers:

Jake S.

Nathan S.

Spencer L.

Owen P.

Kianna D.

Katie H.

Jack B.

Will H.

Lector: Hope K. Dawson M. Allie H. Maren R.

A/V: Jake C. Eli K. Hailey O. Mason H.

Crafts for Christmas: RESCHEDULED Mark your calendars! On Sunday, December 4th from 3:00 – 5:00pm we will be having our 3rd Annual Crafts for Christmas event in the Fellowship Hall for younger youth, ages 3 years old – 2nd grade. The youth will spend

the afternoon creating crafts that can be used as Christ-mas presents for friends and family members. There will be Christmas snacks and even a game or two. Confirma-tion students and CE Ministry Team members will be as-sisting the younger youth with their Christmas craft pro-jects.

The Christmas Holidays are fast approaching. The members of

Christ Lutheran have helped each year to purchase the Christ-

mas Trees, greenery for the Advent Wreath and the poinsettias

to decorate the altar. If you would like to donate to help cover

these costs please drop off a check made out to CLC with

“Christmas Decorations” in the memo line or use a special enve-

lope provided in your envelope box. Thank You!

If you were not able to be with us on Consecration

Sunday we have the 2017 Estimate of Giving sheets in

the narthex. As we anticipate Christ Lutheran’s minis-

try needs/opportunities for the upcoming year, we are ask-

ing our members to give a financial commitment to CLC as

a witness to the mission we share and serve. Please re-

turn to them to the church office at your earliest conven-

ience. Thank You!

If you are changing your giving amounts and are en-

rolled in “Simply Giving” you will need to submit the

Simply Giving change form to the Treasurer or the

Church Office to reflect the change in 2016. Forms are

located on our website, in the narthex or the church

office.

The 2016-2017 Time and Talent sheets are in the narthex.

Please take the time to pick up a sheet and decide on how you

can help serve Christ Lutheran Church with your talents. It

takes many people to help with worship services, altar guild,

choirs and Sunday School etc.….Return your sheets to the

church office or the offering plate. Thanks for your support!

Reminder to all Members! Any end of year givings should be into the church office by Tuesday, Dec. 29th ! Thank You! All Members! If you have recently moved, or changed your phone number, please notify the church office with your new address or phone num-ber. You may email me at office@christluth.com or leave a message at 320-864-4549.

The 2017Giving Envelopes will be in the narthex in December. Please watch for the announcement in the bulletin and take the time to pick up your enve-lopes. Thanks!

To all Council Members, ministry teams and Treas-urer! Just a reminder to please get your Annual Re-ports into the church office by Dec. 28th ! My email address is kathy.remus@christluth.com. Please email your reports to me. Thank You! The Church Office will be closed at noon on Dec. 23rd & closed on Dec. 26th . The office is also closed on Dec. 31st at 12 noon & Jan. 1st. Please take note of these dates.

Our Christmas Eve , Christmas Day & Jan. 1st Worship

services will be held:

4:00 pm—Candles/Holy Communion/

Choir

6:00 pm—Candles & Holy Communion/

Choir

9:00 am---Christmas Day Worship with Holy

Communion.

9:00 am—-New’s Years Day Worship—Lay Lead

The Senior Choir Cantata will be held on Sunday,

Dec. 11th at the 9:00 service. “”Jesus! The Ad-

vent of the Messiah ”, a musical cantata with Sr.

Choir, Bell Choir and instruments. A coming to-

gether to celebrate the arrival of Jesus.

Please join us !

ON GIVING

Let Your Prayers Be Filled With Thanksgiving Greetings! In August 1999, the same week my father died, I received word that Franky was nearing death. Franky's life had not been easy. Her husband had died a fairly young man. Her son died in his early 20s from a disease. Even so, Franky Sandburg's life had made a difference in many quiet and important ways. She was one of those people who had enormous influence on the vitality of the con-gregation. For as long as I knew her, Franky was re-sponsible for the most important component of hospitality - a cup of coffee. She walked to church early every Sunday and prepared cof-fee for the fellowship that would follow. Each time she watched and remembered which cookies the children seemed to like and made sure there was an ample supply of them. She noticed that I often took a Fig Newton and assumed that they were my fa-vorite. (Actually, they weren't, but I figured if I ate one, I wouldn't want another.) She greet-ed people by name, asked questions and lis-tened carefully. Franky celebrated and wept with friends and strangers alike. People knew and liked her. As she was dying, Franky was in her bed at home surrounded by friends and family. I went to her side to tell her good-bye, to let her know how much she meant to me. I shared one of her favorite scripture passages and said, "Franky, I want to pray for you. For what would you like me to pray?" She began to tell me of all people that she wanted me to thank. The list was very long and included former pastors, family members and many friends. When she was done, I said, "Yes, let us give thanks for all these people. But what do you need? What prayer can I offer for you?"

She looked at me and smiled. "Pastor, years ago when I was in Sunday school, Minnie Tack, a missionary to China, came to our church and visited our home. She told me that when you pray, what you need to do is to offer thanks to God for all that you have re-ceived. When you are done offering thanks, there is nothing else about which you need to pray." As we embark on our Advent journey to-ward Bethlehem and the remembrance of God’s faithfulness in Jesus Christ, may we offer abundant thanks for all God has given us! Grace and peace, Jerry Hoffman

2016 McLeod County Christ-mas Project: We welcome all to participate in an effort to fulfill wishes of less fortunate children in McLeod County. The gift tags are displayed

on the hall bulletin board waiting to be chosen by you. New, unwrapped toys and/or monetary dona-tions (checks made out to McLeod County Christ-mas Project) should be returned to Christ Lutheran by Dec. 11th. Thank you in advance for your gener-osity and continued support of our children and families.

Dear Friends,

Leslie and I

request your presence at an

Appreciation Brunch

to be held in our Fellowship Hall

on December 18th, 2016

following the

Sunday School Christmas Worship!

We are grateful

for your partnership in the Gospel

and desire to say “Thank You”!

All visitors are Welcome!