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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
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"Abundantly Blessed to Bless Abundantly"
Dear Members & Friends of Our Savior's Lutheran Church,
As we approach the end of 2017, I want to express my appreciation for you and for all you do to make Our Savior's the community that it is. I hope and pray that you have a blessed Christmas celebration with family and friends. We have been busy this month preparing and offering opportunities for you to worship and experience Advent and Christmas in meaningful ways. I hope you have been blessed and renewed by these opportunities.
I also want to extend a special word of appreciation to the members of our Church Board. They have worked hard this year to help engage and inform our congregation in order to make it the best and most effective community of faith that it can be. When you see any of them, please extend a word of appreciation to them.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to inform, encourage, and challenge you. As always, as we near the end of the year we are keeping a close eye on how our annual operating budget compared to income received, looks. It appears that we have received about 86% of our annual operating budgeted funds ($512,181 of $593,400) and are hopeful for the usual end-of-the-year push towards reaching our budget. Please prayerfully consider an extra gift towards meeting our budget, if you are able. The good news is that our staff has been very good at keeping expenses to a minimum in 2017. This is helpful, but moving forward it is always better to minister and provide programming out of our abundance than out of scarcity. We all have been abundantly blessed. Let's be abundant in our blessing.
There is much to look forward to in 2018. The Board and I will keep you informed as we proceed. We will need your help in determining a vision for our congregation that will then call on us to plan the route for how to get there.
Advent peace and Christmas blessings to you all,
Pastor Dale
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WORSHIP & FAITH FORMATION SCHEDULE
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Sermon: Pastor Dale Stiles
5:00 pm Dinner
Menu: Pulled pork, BBQ sauce, pasta salad, chips, dessert
5:30 pm Advent Worship
7:00 pm Confirmation
Christmas Eve Worship Schedule
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Sermon: Pastor Dale Stiles
9:00 am Worship in the Sanctuary - 4th Sunday in Advent
Special Music: Charlotte Schuld
3:00 pm Candlelight Worship in the CLC
Special Music: Seth Olson, St. Croix Jazz Trio
4:30 pm Candlelight Worship in the CLC
Special Music: JuBellate, St. Croix Jazz Trio
11:00 pm Candlelight & Communion service in the Sanctuary
Special Music: Kingdom Choir
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Children, Youth & Family Ministry
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- No Faith Formation on December 20, 24, 27 or 31.
- Faith Formation resumes on Wednesday, January 3, 2018.
- All Worship Sunday on January 7, 2018.
Confirmation Schedule
- Confirmation will meet tomorrow, December 20, at 7:00 pm.
- No Confirmation on December 27, 2017.
- Confirmation resumes on Wednesday, January 3, 2018 at 7:00 pm.
Youth Groups Schedule
- No Youth Groups will meet on December 20, 24, 27 or 31, 2017.
- Youth Group schedule begins again on Wednesday, January 3, 2018 and Sunday, January 7, 2018.
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Reverse Advent Calendar Boxes
For those of us who have participated in the Reverse Advent Calendar opportunity there are two ways to get your box to Valley Outreach. The week after Christmas you can either bring it to Our Savior's and leave it in the Gathering Area OR you can take it directly to Valley Outreach. If you take it directly to Valley Outreach, we would like to know that just so we can have a number and a feeling about the impact our one congregation can make. Look for the sheet in the Gathering Area where you can indicate that you have left a box at Valley Outreach. And, thank you for making a difference!
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Mission Jamaica
Mary Anderson is headed to Jamaica again and will be traveling with a team from St. Andrews Lutheran Church. The team will be packing suitcases of donations for West Haven Children's Home on Sunday, January 7. Please consider an after-Christmas year-end donation for this worthy cause. A collection box for donations is placed behind the Welcome Desk. Donations need to be at OSLC no later than Saturday, January 6. Thank you!
Suggested donations: batteries (AA & AAA), non-sterile gloves (small, medium & large), petroleum jelly, towels, wash cloths, flat sheets (single or double), toothbrushes, sponges, crib sheets, mattress pads (single size, waterproof), underwear for children size 8 through medium adult, camisoles (girls & women), gently used clothing, baby bottles, nipples, bottle brushes and protein powder.
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January & February Worship Volunteers
Serve God by extending hospitality in a place filled with grace as a Greeter, Welcome Desk Attendant, Usher, Reader or Communion Server! Members and friends with last names beginning E-H are especially called upon for help during January & February, though anyone can sign up who enjoys serving in these capacities.
Sign-up NOW!
Thank you!
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Request for Prayers and Support
Everyday joys and sorrows...Once in a lifetime joys and sorrows. Your brothers and sisters at Our Savior's want to support you. Email or call Pastor Dale Stiles or Parish Nurse, Stacy Meyer, with any of your needs.
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Simply Giving
A more convenient way to give! In a few short minutes, you can make a one-time gift or set up a donation that will process automatically on a recurring basis. Recurring donations are convenient and provide our church with much needed consistent support throughout the year.
To give online, visit our church's website and get set up!
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Stewardship is about love:
serving others through our time, talent, and treasure.
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