an electronic newsletter of Joy Lutheran Church,  Prescott, WI
www.joy-church.org    715-262-5800    [email protected]
Relevant + Hopeful + Generous                        December 24-31, 2017
Joy Lutheran Church office hours will be limited the week of Christmas.  Please call before you come to make sure the office is open.  THANK YOU!
The code for the key box on the side door by the kitchen has been changed. If you need the code, please call the church office.

Upcoming Events at a glance (and quick links)
  

Check out...
  Faith5 home devotional resource God's Story Our Story 
Advent and Christmas Worship Opportunities
 
Dec. 24 "Drawn to the Light" a "live" painted sermon by Pastor Steve - one service at 9:30am

 Christmas Eve Worship - 3:00pm  (musical message by the Joy Choir & Joy Brass accompanying Worship Service)

Candlelight Christmas Eve Worship - 5:00pm 
(musical message by the Joyful Bells & Joy Brass accompanying Worship Service)

 "Christmas Around the World" - 9:00pm  
(a candlelight worship led by guitars, featuring music from around the globe)

Dec.31   New Year's Eve Worship - one service at 9:30am

JOY'S NURSERY HOLIDAY HOURS
   
The nursery will be professionally staffed by Melissa Miller on December 24th at the 9:30 am and 3:00 pm Worship Services. Also on December 31st, at the 9:30 am Worship Service.
d
Weekly Home Devotion Resource

God's Story...Our Story

5 simple steps to help bring your household closer to God and each other. 
Click here  for this week's home devotion.
Thank you to all the Cantata participants for the wonderful music last Sunday.
christmas program
"All Ages, No Rehearsal" Christmas Program

 
Alternative Gift Fair Report

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2017 Alternative Gift Fair. Thirty-six families "purchased" good gifts through our Alternative Gift Fair.  A total of $3473 was given by those who purchased a variety of gifts. (This amount was over three times what was contributed last year!)  That money was sent to the ELCA "Good Gifts" program for disbursement.  

The most popular gifts "purchased" were chicks, piglets, honeybees, goats, water filters, mosquito nets, and clinic visits for a child.  Other gifts that were purchased were roosters, fruit-tree seedlings, farming tools, school fees and supplies, and uniforms for girls to go to school, food and blankets for refugees, vaccinations for children, stocking of a health clinic, Bibles, and stocking backpacks with food for children. The Women's Bible Study group and JWELCA both bought good gifts with their donations and others bought good gifts in honor of loved ones, or their families, or even their working colleagues.  We are grateful that our gifts from the Alternative Gift Fair will carry God's love to others, making a difference in their lives and in the world!   

Baptized this Sunday

We celebrate with Amanda and Riley Wilson the baptism of their son Harrison Riley Wilson at the 9:30am worship service on Christmas Eve morning
Type caption text here.
Sharing and Caring Hands
Joy will be preparing and serving a noon meal to 250 to 300 homeless people in Minneapolis on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018 We need people to help with serving, people to make Jell-O in ice cream pails (10 buckets, each made from 3 large boxes), people to make cakes (15 to 20), and people to drive. There are sign up sheets in the Narthex. All donations need to be at the church by 9:00 a.m. on serving day. Joy volunteers will be leaving Joy at 9:30 a.m. and returning by 2:00 p.m. ALSO, help is needed on Monday, January 1st, 2018
to prepare the food. Please contact Kelly Poff at 715-262-4281 or Jim and Bobbie Flatz with any questions.  

Wednesday Suppers  

DECEMBER MENU
27th ~ NO WEDNESDAY NIGHT SUPPER

All are welcome to enjoy a delicious meal and wonderful fellowship at Joy. Supper time is from 5:15 to 6:30 pm.
A vegetarian option or hot dogs and chips are also offered as an alternative at each meal.  A free will donation is appreciated, but not necessary if you are not able to contribute.
Bring your friends and neighbors to the table and experience JOY!
Did You Know... Joy's Worship Services are broadcast live on 88.7 FM??? If you are having trouble hearing the service as it happens or just want to listen along, you can bring in a small radio with a headset or ear buds. Or, please feel free to speak with Lee Northouse, we have them available for use at Joy!
A Message from Joy's Library Committee

The Library committee would like to remind everyone that the library has several movies and books with Christmas themes for all ages.  Please view the bulletin board and check out a move or book to enjoy!
Be part of a Thrivent Action Team

UPDATE...
As of Dec. 1st, we have 60 applications approved for 2017 and 55 completed. The remaining 5 will be completed during December so our year end total of Thrivent Action Team contributions will be $15,000. It was a good year! 

Thousands of dollars are available for us to use projects in our congregation and community...come find out how you can be part of it. Joy has prepared a 2 page informational and guidelines document that will explain the program and ease you through the application process.  If you would like to view this  here .  Another great resource is "101 ways to spark action in your community". 
  
Be sure to check  Thrivent page on our church website for more information.

Youth

JOY YOUTH
dcSign up sheets for the New Year are  posted in the Narthex!

Our Wednesday Night Supper is one of our ministries that is at the core of what we are about.  We are blessed to have a great cook to prepare the food (thank you Kelly) but preparing the food is only part of providing a meal.
We also need people willing to help with the set up and clean up.

This is where we need your help.   Many hands make light work.  If we can get 8 dish team organized, then no one would need to work more than once a month for 1 1/2 hour.  We are looking to have 2 shifts (early 4:30-6:00 and late  6:00-7:30). Teams would be 3-4 people and could be families or any kind of group.  You can form your own team, or indicate your willing to help and we will form the teams.   Thank you for your support of this important ministry.       
  click here to indicate your willingness to help
FAITH FORMATION

Faith Formation is a life-long process that we approach in a number of ways. First and foremost the home is the primary place where faith formation happens. The home is where priorities and values are modeled and reinforced. As a worshipping community we want to help support the work that you are doing at home.  

One of the ways we do that is to provide a resource for home devotional use called
"God's Story Our Story" . It explores the theme that we focus on at worship each week and is available as a bulletin insert (also available on our web page).
 
We also offer a resource we call Sunday School each week at 10:15. Sunday School starts in worship because it is important for our young people to have the experience of worshipping with family. During this time we model the devotional Faith5 time the bulletin insert is there to encourage.   Then the youth (preschool- 5th grade) go to a class to focus on learning and applying faith to life, returning to worship for Holy Communion and time with their families.

Another option for
Faith Formation is offered between the worship services (at 9:25-10:05) to provide an educational experience which is separate from worship, so parents who want to worship the whole hour as families have that opportunity.

There are two elements: The first element is
Faith U (faith university) which is geared for adults. We are never too old to learn something new and you can't pass on a living faith if you are not nurturing it in yourself. There will be a variety of topics offered, dealing with both life application, as well as Bible and theology topics in short series.  The other element is a Cross Generational Class designed for both adults and kids. Having these two options allows parents and kids to have separate focused classes if they wish, or they could attend the cross generational class together as whole families to enhance their faith formation.
 
In addition we offer two opportunities on Wednesday nights. For our 6-7th graders we have a pre-confirmation program called Shift 67 and for our 8-9th graders our Confirmation ministry.
 
Questions ? Talk to Christy or Pastor Steve.
Live Generously

Thank you for your generosity.  As our treasurer, Kristen Tibayan mentioned a couple weeks ago we have a little catching up to do in order to repay the borrowing we have done internally, in order to keep our ministries thriving. We have made some good progress* but we only have 6 weeks before the end of the year. Your generosity will make all the difference as we make our plans for 2018.

We adopted a very challenging budget and also had a capital appeal where we raised over $32,000 this year. 
The line between getting by and boldly being able to move forward is a thin line.  For most of us, $5 a week would not make or break our budget, but multiplied by the whole congregation it would make all the difference.

I encourage you consider making an increase in your giving this coming year. Hopefully you received a letter in the mail this last week asking you to consider making an estimate of your giving for the coming year.  It is a great spiritual discipline to help us be more intentional about our giving, as well as a helpful tool for our congregation in its stewardship of the resources God has given us to manage.  (If you didn't get a letter, let the office know so we can update our records) 


The letter had paper versions of the "estimate of giving" card and a form for setting up or modifying your electronic giving, like we have done for many years.  Please contact the church office if you have questions of need assistance. If you would rather work digitally on your own visit our Giving page on the website or click on the links here:

Electronic Estimate of Giving Form   Why Give?    Set up or manage my electronic giving

*balance of what we borrowed from ourselves was $10,303 at the end of Sept and by the end of October we had reduced it to $7,477
Church Directory
**Updated as of October 2017, directories (both picture and address) are ready to pick up...they are also available on the church web page on a password protected page (please call the office for the password).
If you have corrections please let the office know. 
**If you would like to update or add your picture, please send it to the office at any time.  It will be included in the next print!**

Name Tag s... are a great way to help people remember your name.  We are working on a system to have more permanent name tags available, but for now any time you can wear one helps the rest of us get to know you. Thank you.

If you miss a sermon...

and want to catch up or share it with someone who might appreciate it. We record our worship each week and post it on our web page as well as the bottom of this weekly electronic newsletter.  Just click on the YouTube button.                   
Worship Attendance
Date
8:15 Traditional
10:15 Contemporary
TOTAL
Nov 26
60
57
117
Dec 3
50
156
206
Dec 10
60
88
148
Dec 17
58
97
155

Weekly Giving Summary
 Week Of:  Regular Giving Electronic Giving Offering Total    Other Income
  Nov 19   
   
    $2,826.70               $1,107.50             $3.934.20      
$366.55 
 
 Nov 26         $2,629.00            $1,167.50              $3,796.50                    $606.00        
Dec 3  
         
$2,276.00      $5,473.31                      $7,749.31              $834.05  
Dec 10  $3,360.00   $4,572.50   $7,932.50      $1,576.91  

Average Offering Income to meet projected expenses  $5966
An additional  $641 is needed each week to address the budget shortfall
*=UPDATED, +=NOT AVAILABLE  

If you would like to give electronically you can do so through our web page

  Set up or manage my electronic giving

If you have a QR reader on your phone you can also access the page by scanning here

If you don't have a QR reader and still would like the convenience of working from your phone.  
We also have a church giving app called Give+  available as a free download.     How it works

WiFi Joy Guest Password:  WelcomeToJoy!73  
Worship Leaders for December, 8:15, 10:15 & Christmas Worship Services  
worshipleadersthy
GREETERS
READER
COMMUNION ASSISTANTS
USHERS-All Month









December 24
9:30 AM
Ken & Linda Wilson

3:00 PM
Jim & Jana Lawton

5:00 PM
The Schultz Family-Ernie, Patti and Ella

9:00 PM
Craig & Tammy Orf

December 24
9:30 AM


3:00 PM
Tom Peterson

5:00 PM
Ken Roen

9:00 PM
Carol Peterson

December 24
9:30 AM
Carol Peterson

3:00 PM
Diane Meyer, Tom Peterson, Ken Roen

5:00 PM
Phyllis Hoffmann, Bobbie Flatz, Joan Northouse

9:00 PM
Carol Peterson, Cathy Martin

December 24
9:30 AM
Jim & Bobbie Flatz

3:00 PM
Richard Hoffmann, Kris, Dave and Nick Swanson

5:00 PM
Norm Johnson, Ron Stanke, Bobbie & Jim Flatz

9:00 PM
Jim & Bobbie Flatz


December 31
9:30 AM
Jayne Parmeter

December 31
9:30 AM
Joan Northouse

December 31
9:30 AM
Joan Northouse, Krista Mitzuk, Marcia Lindseth
December
8:15
Jim & Bobbie Flatz and Pete French

10:15
The Kleinschmidt's
weekWeekly Calendar 
 
24 Sunday
CHRISTMAS EVE
NO Sunday School
9:30am Blended Worship Service "Drawn to the Light" a "live" painted Sermon by Pastor Steve
3-4pm
Christmas Eve Worship Service-Musical Message by The Joy Choir & Joy Brass accompanying Worship Service 
5-6pm
Candlelight Christmas Eve Worship Service-Musical Message by The Joyful Bells & Joy Brass accompanying Worship Service 
9-10pm " Christmas Around the World"- A Candlelight Worship Service led by guitars, featuring music from around the globe
 
25 Monday
MERRY CHRISTMAS
OFFICE CLOSED
NO SCHOOL-Winter Break Dec 25-Jan 1
 
 
26 Tuesday
 
27 Wednesday
NO Confirmation/Shift 6/7
NO Wednesday Night Supper
NO Joy Unlimited, Sing 4 Joy, Joy Choir Rehearsal
 
28 Thursday
9-11am Joy Cleaning Crew
 
29 Friday
 
30 Saturday
 
31 Sunday
NEW YEARS EVE
9:30AM Blended Worship Service
 
 
Joy Lutheran Church  1435 St Croix St. Prescott, WI 54021
715-262-5800   [email protected]   www.joy-church.org
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