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Quick Notes and Reminders
Please check the calendar for more information.
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Faith Feast Menu:
November 16 will feature pasta bar, bread-sticks, salad, and dessert.
Food Pantry Items The food item for November is soup.
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Imagination doesn't always come easy. It is often the first thing that is diminished when we are feeling anxious. What I mean by imagination is the ability to see - to see not only with our eyes but also inwardly - intuitively. I don't mean the kind of day dreaming "pie in the sky" imagination, but the kind of imagination that helps us take notice and appreciate the places and people that surround us. Some might call it vision.
True imagination is connected to our relationships - to where we move and have our being. Wendell Berry makes the important observation that imagination has much to do with showing sympathy, affection and neighborliness. (From his 2012 National Endowment for the Humanities Lecture, "It All Turns on Affection.")
So in this way, imagination is about faith - clearly a particular way of seeing and being. We can say that imagination is a matter of the heart. And it can be difficult to measure. It is expressed in our calm affection for one another. It cultivates respect and mutuality. It is grounded. We can say that when we see with our mind's eye what we might otherwise miss we are enlivened to move forward staying focused on what truly matters. To imagine faithfully is to live always with hope!
The Gospel reading for this weekend comes at the end of Luke. It deals with ultimate matters. It addressed a community of faith that found it hard to imagine the future. The nature of this kind of writing was meant to lift up, encourage and regain a confidence that God was ever present even if it didn't feel that way. It did not deny the present reality but lifted sights to new horizons. It helped the faithful to press on attentive to a promise and a vision that showed a way forward.
Too often we dismiss the work of imagining because we think it is impractical. But in fact it is one of the most practical things we ought to be doing. Can we see the church as a listening point for the sake of understanding and creativity? Can we trust that the Spirit can weave the many strands of community into a fabric of wholeness - serving as a witness to the world of what is possible?
Pastor Randy
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Responding to God's Grace
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This weekend we celebrate God's wonderful grace by offering our commitments of financial support for 2017.
Have you been thinking about all that you have received from God this year and how thankful you are? Have you said a prayer or two that Faith Lutheran Church will be blessed? We hope so!
The Faith Lutheran Stewardship Committee encourages you to use the chart below as you consider your pledge of giving for the coming year. If you already give using a percentage, we hope that you will consider increasing it. If you have not given a percentage of your income to Faith in the past, but rather a consistent dollar amount, we encourage you to use the chart to identify what percentage you have been giving.
We are asking for a pledge of your giving in the coming year 2017, and realize that circumstances change. View the pledge as your goal, and then adjust the amount up or down if your financial situation changes during the year.
Please bring your commitment portion on the lower portion of the recently sent letter. If you forget, we invite you to use a commitment card located in the pew rack to indicate your intended support in 2017. Our ushers also have cards. Faith Lutheran Church Stewardship Committee
We are joyous as we embrace what God has in store for Faith Lutheran Church!
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Learn, Laugh, and Lunch Change
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Learn, Laugh and Lunch on Wednesday, November 16, has had a programming change. Colonel Mark Chidley of the 132nd Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard will be our speaker. Colonel Chidley will tell us about the mission of the 132nd Wing as it controls a military drone over foreign territories. Information about the social and economic impact of this mission on the Des Moines community will be included.
We are sorry to have to make this change, but we are grateful the the Air National Guard for stepping in with this great program.
Because of this program change, we are extending the deadline for reservations until noon on Monday, November 14. Thanksgiving dinner is: turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry salad, rolls, and pumpkin pie.
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This week's discussion topic for Faith Journeys, our Adult Sunday School class will be: "The Holy Trinity: God in Communion and Radical Relatedness." Faith Journeys meets from 9:30-10:15 a.m. in Messiah Hall, rooms 203 and 204, and is facilitated by Dee Paddock. Please join us.
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 Cancer Support Group will meet at the church Sunday, November 13, from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. Jan Stegeman, R.N. and Barbara Cavallin, Ph.D. are the facilitators. Anyone who is dealing with cancer, has a friend or relative who is, or is dealing with the loss of a loved one from cancer, is encouraged to come for this inspirational, compassionate, uplifting time of devotion, information, sharing, caring and prayer. If you have any materials that you would like to share with the group, please bring them. Please email us at cavallinassoc@aol.com or janstegeman1@gmail.com to let us know whether or not you will be able to come.
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Luther Park Christmas Gifts
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 It is time to start thinking about Christmas gifts for Luther Park residents. There are suggestions sheets available on the bulletin board in the entry way or you can download one here.. Please take one with you as a reminder when you are out shopping. A lot of the items are things you can easily pick up as you do your own shopping. A box will be there for collection later in November. Thank you for your past and present support.
Vi Munsch, Representative from Faith
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Crestview Holiday Baskets
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 For the fourth year in a row, we are again partnering with the City of Clive and the Clive Lions to supply holiday food baskets for approximately 60 families at Crestview Elementary. For the month of November, we are collecting:
- any variety dried beans
- canned meats: tuna, chicken, salmon
- vegetable oil
- cereal
All donations can be left in the Commons at Faith. We will collect food through Friday, December 9. Thank you for your support as this project gets bigger every year!
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Children and Family Ministry
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Our next Parents' Night Out is Friday, November 11. It will be a lego themed night of games, snacks, crafts, and The Lego Movie. Register here.
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Youth and Family Ministry
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7th-9th Grade Notes:
- Friday, November 11 - Friday Night at Faith - CANCELED
- Friday, November 11 - Children and Family Parents' Night Out Helper
- Saturday, November 12 - Fall Clean-up Day
- Friday, December 9 - Children and Family Parents' Night Out Helper
10th-12th Grade Notes:
*SHYG meets every Wednesday evening from 7:45-9 pm - join us!
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